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EDGAR A. POE 
A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 



EDGAR A. POE 

A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 



By 

JOHN w. Robertson! m. d. 



G. 


P. 


PUTNAM'S SONS 


NEW YORK 


LONDON 






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Copyright, 192 1 

by 

John W. Robertson 

Copyright, 1922 

by 

John W. Robertson , 



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Made in the United States of America 



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FOREWORD 

That reaction originating in our cerebrum when either the 
impres;sions received by our five special senses, or our 
more general conceptions, have to be transferred to our 
brain cells and transformed into responsive comprehension 
and action, or that still less understood capacity for 
memory and the "secretion of thought" which necessarily 
occurs when our brain cells function, cannot be explained 
by any definitely established scientific theory. Even less 
can the brain's unconscious cerebration that underlies the 
dream state, or even normal auto-hypnotization, be more 
than surmised. 

We remain ignorant of the brain's physiology, and each 
theorist who attempts to psychologize the process by 
which he thinks only gropes into the recesses of his own 
brain and can find no law so comprehensive that it will 
answer as a general solution of this unsolved problem. 

Although the law of conception and function may be the 
same for all normal brains, it is not possible to predict the 
reaction of each individual brain under the same stress, 
especially when that brain either by reason of inheritance 
or because of acquired irritability becomes abnormally 
sensitive. Every brain, with its resulting personality, is a 
law to itself, and the judgment that may be passed on one, 
cannot be held true of another with brain cells differently 
arranged. Were it possible to X-ray the arrangement of 
these cells, they would differ as markedly as do the in- 
dividual finger prints. 

Given the psychological training that will interpret 
fundamental facts, one need not be unduly credulous of, 
or trammelled by the speculative and by no means authori- 
tative treatises on the "newer psychology." 



FOREWORD 

The study of psychology does not consist in reading 
scientific treatises upon brain function that contain defi- 
nitely established'laws. Rather it is empirical and is based 
upon the study of the many individuals with whom we 
daily are brought in contact. Applied psychology cannot 
be taught except through the medium of our own experi- 
ences and intuitions — that sixth sense which is given to 
some of us in far greater proportion than it is to others. 

It is given only to a few to study abnormal psychology 
where all moral restraints have been removed, where in- 
hibitions are no longer in control, and where thoughts are 
given xitterance that by long cultivation have been more or 
less modified or concealed, and which, in each individual 
case, must be judged in accordance with the mental state 
that produces it. For such brains, laid bare by disease, 
more direct laws have been enunciated. Unfortunately, 
these individualistic theories are but a reflex of the brains 
that formulated them. 

Ordinarily our study must be based on those individuals 
with whom we are daily thrown in contact, and we must 
attempt to remove the concealing garment woven of the 
many obsessions, compulsions, and fixed habits of thought 
that they wear, whose existence rests upon hereditary pre- 
dispositions and impulses so strongly ingrained as to often 
be beyond their self-control. 

In addition to the living, rare study is offered by the 
many biographies and autobiographies that have been 
furnished us. Biographies are of less value than the auto- 
biographies because, as a rule, they in no way represent 
the personality of the individual discussed, except as seen 
through the medium of the biographer's preconceptions — 
good or ill as he may be disposed to interpret the facts. 

In studying my books, it has always been a difficult 
matter to separate and dissociate the personality of the 
man who wrote, from the things written; for this reason 



FOREWORD 

my collection of biographies and autobiographies are co- 
extensive with the other books collected. I do not believe 
that the statements contained therein are in all ways auth- 
entic, or that they are to be relied upon as an index to the 
personal qualities and individual traits of the person they 
attempt to depict. I have found that they are as valuable 
for what they endeavor to conceal as for what they ex- 
hibit, in spite of the fact that their kindly efforts to make 
plain the inner life end in failure, when they attempt to ex- 
plain that which is inexplicable. A biographer must psych- 
ologize himself before he can psychologize his subject. 

A striking illustration of this is found in Bishop's 
'Theodore Roosevelt and his Time." The gradual change 
observable in the man whom we loved for his virility, his 
honesty of purpose, and especially for the enemies that he 
made, is a regrettable instance of the dominant ego of 
youth slowly transformed into the megalomania of age. 
The bitter antagonism Roosevelt exhibited because of de- 
viation from his councils, his intolerance of all things he 
had not originated, and his exhibition of wrath aroused 
because of a just award that fulfilled a moral obligation 
crowning his own greatest achievement, were but symp- 
toms of an egomania that finally ended in an obsession. He 
mistook the buzzing of the bee for the Call of the People 
demanding his return to public office. Although in Bishop's 
statement there is an evident attempt either to explain or 
to ignore these various assumptions, it is not difficult to 
read between the lines. He omitted unduly. 

Undoubtedly, as is the case with Washington, and as it 
is rapidly becoming with Lincoln, time will cause these 
human weaknesses to be forgotten, and Roosevelt may 
become apotheosized; but such books, dealing with mat- 
ters still fresh in our memories, arouse only criticism. 

What autobiography more depressing could be found 
than that of Henry Adams, the arch pessimist of his pessi- 



FOREWORD 

mistic family, who laid before an interested world his 
Theories of Education? That neurasthenic, third-person 
statement, filled with morbid introspection, should have 
contained far more of strenuous life and personal impres- 
sions than Adams did give out. 

Could two more dissimilar lives have been related, yet 
each, in their way, self-explanatory? In both cases it was 
the morbid ego that dominated. 

Notwithstanding the veil of obscurity thrown around 
individuals by their biographers, and their attempts to 
explain unexplainable facts and to make the world view 
their subjects as they themselves have been hypnotized 
into seeing him, in spite of that strabismus which afflicts 
all autobiographers when they attempt to see themselves 
as they desire the world to view them, it is not impossible, 
nor is it really difficult to judge of the facts, not only from 
what is stated but, almost equally, from what is omitted. 

There is an optical illusion frequently experienced, 
founded upon the temporary retention of an image by the 
retina. If one travels at a definite speed past an enclosed 
and ordinarily view-proof fence (a fence that has slight 
interstices separating the boards), a perfect view is giyen 
of the enclosed interior. Before one fleeting image im- 
pressed upon the retina has vanished, another again has 
impressed its image. A continuous picture is thus formed, 
identical with that known as a moving picture. In the 
account of any life, we find knot-holes and cracks, and 
intCBStitial glimpses, which give us a full view of the interior 
of such authors as interest us. In this way we may arrive 
at a very satisfactory knowledge of all that we should 
know about an individual. To probe deeper is not always 
the decent thing, nor is it necessary that posterity be 
familiarized with facts, as in Herndon's "Life of Lincoln," 
that the individual, or his descendants, desired suppressed. 

Certain of these writers have presented such marked 



FOREWORD 

peculiarities, either in what they have written or in the 
facts of their lives — often in both — as to have been chosen 
by me as especially interesting psychological problems, 
well worth the study of an alienist. Blake and Swedenborg, 
Swift, Bacon, Rousseau, Lamb, Johnson, and many others, 
are proper subjects for such an investigation. These and 
others I have painstakingly studied, and have attempted 
critically to estimate the significance that their peculiari- 
ties and personalities should have in a consideration of the 
things that they have written. I have endeavored to un- 
ravel the skein of many threads that constituted their 
real life, and to view the web of their personality, the woof 
of which had been composed of most heterogeneous and ill- 
assorted strands, even when the warp was sound and well 
stretched, and the completed fabric proved a Royal Robe. 

If this composite picture, and this reconstruction, be a 
necessary introduction to a full understanding of Poe's 
personality, it is unfortunate that it was not made many 
years ago. The elapsed time has allowed the acid with 
which^that other portrait was etched-in to "bite" so deeply 
that the impression formed may have become indelible. 
Even so, I believed myself justified in attempting it. 

In a book, "Poe: A Study," recently privately printed, 
I attempted to make a psychopathic investigation of the 
facts of Poe's life, and to interpret them in accordance with 
such medical consideration as was warranted by his inher- 
ited neurosis. In this "Psychopathic Study" of Poe, I also 
included an analysis of much that he wrote that aided in 
explaining certain ill-understood phases of his life, or that 
was of bibliographical interest. 

The "Psychopathic Study" constitutes the body of this 
present publication. To it is added as much of the bibli- 
ography as directly deals with the abnormal phases of 
Poe's mentality ; also it includes my further investigations, 
and such corrections and additions as have been sug- 



FOREWORD 

gested by our leading Poe scholars. Among these may 
be mentioned Whitty, Woodberry, Campbell and Mabbott. 

Inasmuch as the original study made no note of any 
Poe work except that contained in my own library, and 
in no way was intended as a complete bibliography, I 
have omitted it from the present publication, as well as 
much extraneous matter that was of interest only to my 
bibliophilic friends. 

There is in preparation, however, a work intended as a 
companion volume to this publication. It will include not 
only all'the bibliography that relates to Poe which was con- 
tained in the original volume, as well as new material found 
in early and rare magazines, but also that desideratum long 
demanded— a complete Poe bibliography. 

Many of these early publications have become extremely 
scarce and, in a few cases, no complete file can be found. 
Even so, it is hoped that some original and valuable addi- 
tions of material hitherto unreported will be made. In 
this work Thomas Ollive Mabbott will collaborate, and J. 
H. Whitty, as well as other Poe authorities, will cooperate. 

John W. Robertson 

San Francisco, California 
August 27, iq22 



CONTENTS 

PAGE 

POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY i 

SECTION I : POE'S LIFE i 

SECTION II: POE'S CRITICS . . . . 115 

SECTION III: POE'S FRIEND 2oq 

A MONOLOGUE CONCERNING THE DEAD . . . Z2q 

APPENDIX 243 

INDEX 317 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

EDGAR A. POE FRONTISPIECE 

From an Oil Painting in the Edgar A. Poe Shrine at Richmond. 

FACING PAGE 

POE AND GRISWOLD 115 

MRS. CLEMM. With Reproduction TO MY MOTHER . . . 2oq 

FACSIMILE PAGE OF CHARMION AND EIROS . . . itq 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 



POE: 

A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

Section I. Poe's Life 

THE struggles, the disillusions, and the enmities of life 
are a part of daily experience. Either death should 
bring compensating oblivion, or it should throw the mantle 
of charity over our frailties. 

Bitterly as Poe suffered while he lived, and disastrous 
as was the fate that overwhelmed him, it was his ill for- 
tune to be even more harshly judged in death than while he 
lived and fought. Alive, he was feared : dead, a dastardly 
advantage was taken, and his works were sent forth 
accompanied by a memoir that has been well called an 
"immortal infamy." 

There was an audience that applauded this deed ; for, 
while Poe left behind him but few enemies, he left very 
many literary enmities. His marvelously accurate estimates 
of his contemporaries — the "Quacks of Helicon" — as sum- 
marized in the various papers constituting "The Literati" 
and "Marginalia," were the basis for these enmities, and 
his neurosis, with its characteristic outbreaks, was the 
foundation of much adverse criticism. 

Many other writers have sinned more grievously, and, 
while they have not obtained the corroborating verdict of 
posterity to support their judgment, yet their mistakes 
have been overlooked, forgiven, or forgotten for the sake 
of the immortal works they left behind them. 

While the reputation of no other American writer stands 
so preeminent as does that of Poe, yet there is, mingled with 
admiration, mistrust of the man: a belief that much of 



2 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

the weirdness and vividness of his stories and poems were 
the result of an abnormal mentality, and that these 
qualities, of necessity, were the emanations of a brain 
diseased or drugged. It is difficult to think of Poe with- 
out the intrusion of this personal element. Because of the 
realism of his stories, and his tendency to deal with the 
horrible and grotesque, it has been unjustly asserted that 
such creations are not compatible with a normal brain, 
or with intellectual sanity. Poe achieved such complete suc- 
cess in forcibly presenting his concepts, and in minutely 
and realistically detailing the ideas and sentiments which 
characterize his stories, that it is difficult to dissociate the 
Work from the Man. Yet, that we may fully understand 
the Man, this differentiation is an absolutely necessary 
premise on which to base our conclusions. 

Poe was human, with gentle and lovable qualities, and 
possessed the graces and refinements that, the world over, 
mark the gentleman. He was not the unfriended being 
who regarded society as "composed altogether of villains" ; 
nor was it his habit to "walk the streets in madness or 
melancholy, with his lips moving in jindistinct curses, 
or his eyes upturned in passionate prayer"; neither can 
it be justly said that he had "no wish for the esteem 
or for the love of his species"; nor that he only wished 
to "succeed that he might have the right to despise a 
world that galled his self-conceit" ; — all of which his first 
editor asserted. 

Poe's life was a tragedy. Better would it have been 
had the good been recorded and the details of his infir- 
mity suppressed. This was not to be. 

In a memoir inserted into the first edition of Poe's 
collected works statements made were so distorted when 
they had a foundation of fact, and there were many that 
were so false and without foundation, that succeeding 
biographers, attempting to refute these charges, have made 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 3 

assertions not substantiated by well established contem- 
porary evidence. 

In reviewing these controversial details I shall attempt 
no defense of Poe except where the facts have been mis- 
represented, or where I believe that there have been abso- 
lute misstatements. The very nature of this study makes 
it necessary for me to dwell on certain unfortunate 
aspects of Poe's life, and on the circumstances that led 
up to the legends still clustering around his name. 

Without special knowledge of the causes that may 
produce unstable mental states, which only an alienist can 
possess, no biographer of Poe has been able to grasp in their 
entirety the essential facts necessary to an understanding 
of the morbid mental conditions that periodically obsessed 
Poe and under whose spell he was at the time many ques- 
tionable acts were committed. 

Certain biographers who have been Poe's most active de- 
fenders have ignored the more serious charges, or have 
extenuated and denied them to an extent not warranted 
by established facts. Only those who are experienced in 
the study of patients thus afflicted, and who have had per- 
sonal association with them, can fully understand and 
appreciate the nature of the neurosis from which Poe 
suffered, and the difficulty in overcoming such obsessions. 

Heredity, which, more than environment, dominates 
every human being, was responsible both for Poe's 
brilliant endowments, and for the one evil that was so 
woven into the web of his life that a mere statement of 
the evidence, without fully weighing it, might seem to 
justify the strictures of certain of his contemporaries, but 
this in no way justifies the vicious assault upon Poe's 
memory made by his first editor. 

Poe inherited a nervous temperament that was preg- 
nant with good as well as evil. This psychoneurotic her- 
edity may manifest itself in many ways. 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 



There are certain unfortunates born into the world who 
inherit a nervous organization so unstable that the 
slightest strain will break their nerve resistance and 
precipitate them into some predetermined form of func- 
tional neurosis which no prophylactic measure can pre- 
vent ; nor can we prognose the exact form this neurosis 
may take. Often it will be merely a neurasthenia develop- 
ing under some nerve strain in a person predisposed, which 
would have no effect on a normally constituted individual ; • 
or it may show itself in that Brahmanic form of nervous 
seizure that we call "megrim," more popularly known as 
sick-headache. It is a fact to be noted that megrim is, 
metaphorically, a badge of intellectual royalty. 

I cannot believe that a mentally dull and unintellectual 
person could develop a typical megrim with its various 
prodromataand its lightning-like onset. Its recurrent nature 
can be explained only by some form of brain explosion. In 
this respect megrim is allied with its co-relative, epilepsy, 
but it differs vastly in its destructive effect both on the 
brain and on the intellectual faculties. In certain persons 
afflicted by such an heredity, other neuroses may develop. 
Not only the genius but the morally or intellectually insane 
are classed among those possessing this nervous diathesis. 

Another common type is that form from which Poe 
I suffered and from which he attempted to escape by the 
undue use of alcohol and, occasionally, opium. In the par- 
ticular case of Poe, and because alcohol was his usual 
refuge, the term "dipsomania" can be properly used; for, 
in his seizures, this disease was typically manifested. 
Dipsomania necessarily is an alcoholic inheritance. It is 
characterized by periodical seizures in which the subject, 
because of changed personality, is temporarily irresponsi- 
ble, and cannot, at all times, be held accountable for his 
behavior or his acts. Those with such an inheritance may 
indulge in excesses, usually alcoholic, often immoral, and, 



1 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 5 

occasionally, criminal. When these seizures pass and 
the patient recovers, there may be, in the severer and 
progressive form, complete loss of memory. During the 
attack there is usually loss of self-control and an abnormal 
ideation. It is a transmitted disease and has an alcoholic 
heredity. Not every alcoholic father begets a dipsomaniac 
child. Many children born of such parents inherit other of 
the functional neuroses ; yet, when we find the dipsomaniac 
obsession, we are certain to find a marked alcoholic 
heredity, or that alcohol has been persisted in through two 
or more generations. 

Should the parent not have inherited any alcoholic taint 
and yet drink to excess, the children will show a more or 
less rnarked neurosis, especially if begotten when the par- 
ent was in a condition of intoxication. In this group are 
to be included the defective, the criminal, and the crank, 
as well as those possessing an unstable nervous system that 
may develop insanity. In addition to these, and as truly 
the result of heredity, are the precocious, and those 
having that excessive development of certain faculties 
that we call genius. Among such individuals a tendency 
to alcoholic excess is frequently a complicating factor, 
though often slightly marked and controllable. 

While this neurosis may be lessened in this second gener- 
ation, and, by careful mating, maybe eradicated, yet there 
is an inexorable law of heredity that usually dominates. 
Those of succeeding generations that do become alcoholic 
frequently beget the dipsomaniac, or individuals in other 
ways profoundly neurotic ; so that the family cursed with 
this particular inheritance is frequently destroyed. 

Dipsomania is a disease, and those suffering from it 
should be given such medical consideration as we give the 
insane. Dipsomaniacs drink because of hereditary com- 
pulsion and rarely are they convivial drinkers. It is true 
that in the early period they occasionally so indulge; but 



6 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

there is soon established, because of this predisposition, an 
uncontrollable longing, not necessarily for the taste of 
alcohol, but rather for the effect, even though the taste be 
disagreeable. 

There is, in the beginning of the attack, a sensation of 
nervousness and unrest, frequently accompanied by de- 
pression. At times this depression amounts to actual men- 
tal pain, which, while not seriously interfering with the 
normal functioning of the intellectual processes, can pro- 
foundly influence the moral faculties and may result in 
inability to judge rightly of their own condition. The 
will power of such patients may be so weak as to inhibit 
them from carrying out social acts and unfit them for 
intercourse. Occasionally this goes to the extent of ac- 
tual, if slight, mental disturbance which most insist- 
ently demands some form of narcotic control, or per- 
haps immoral excitement. They will seek surroundings 
that in their better moods would be disgusting, and 
for days or weeks will disappear, to return seared by the 
marks of their dissipation, repentant and protesting a 
horror of alcohol, certain they will never again relapse. 
Many of the milder cases show no serious moral change 
and, except for these occasional outbreaks, attract but 
slight attention even among their intimates. Such cases 
are amenable to treatment and are regarded as recover- 
able. Usually time, with proper restorative measures, will 
cure them, or at least, if not fully restored, their power 
of resistance may be so increased that no serious brain 
degeneration will follow. 

When the inheritance is more pronounced, and there is 
marked nervous instability, very serious moral and men- 
tal deterioration occurs. When alcohol has been consumed 
for a long period of time the nerve centers may become 
markedly diseased. Invariably there is intense congestion, 
often accompanied by a low grade of inflammation of the 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 7 

meninges — spider-like coverings composed of a network of 
arterioles attached to and penetrating the brain convolu- 
tions through which the cells of the brain are supplied with 
blood. These arterioles become thickened, tortuous, and 
occasionally membranous, adhering both to the skull- 
cap and the brain tissue. Because of temporary stimula- 
tion of the circulation, this organic change frequently re- 
sults in maniacal outbreaks, often of short duration ; or it 
may, if this change has progressed sufficiently, determine 
and actually produce a chronic mania. 

The more serious forms of dipsomania are at times ac- 
companied by temporary loss of memory, and one pecul- 
iarity of this condition is that the patient may, in action 
and appearance, speech and conduct, appear normal ; yet, 
on recovery, there will be no memory of what transpired 
during these lapses. Our medico-legal books detail many 
cases of this kind, and the law as to their irresponsibility 
is well established. Occasionally prolonged alcoholic de- 
bauches terminate in temporary delirium without these 
serious organic changes; but, when the organic stage is 
reached, such patients should not be held responsible. 

Alienists recognize certain nervous manifestations that 
are due to heredity and have periodic returns as true 
mental diseases, and they classify them under the general 
term "Periodic Insanity." These do not manifest them- 
selves by outbreaks of either excitement or depression; 
nevertheless they are not normal and are characterized by 
a weakened or perverted mental state. 

One of our well-known authorities on insanity, Spitzka, 
thus summarizes these conditions : 

Almost any one of the known forms of morbid impulse may 
appear in periodical phases, but this is particularly the case with the 
morbid craving for drink, which seizes on its subjects at certain inter- 
vals with such intensity that the ordinarily quiet, orderly, refined 
and sensitive patient, losing all sense of propriety and shame, gives 



8 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

himself up to unrestrained and ruinous debauchery. This distressing 
condition is known as Dipsomania. It is to be distinguished from 
inebriety and alcoholism: for the inebriate is not driven to his exces- 
ses so suddenly and irresistibly, nor does he cease them as abruptly as 
the dipsomaniac. In the inebriate the motive grows out of appetite 
and habit; in the dipsomaniac it is a blind craving which, if not stilled 
by alcoholic beverages, will seek some other outlet. Often these patients 
develop some morbid craving for certain narcotics, and we may thus 
have a periodical craving for opium analogous to the periodical crav- 
ing for drink, and as distinct from the ordinary opium habit as is 
dipsomania from inebriety. As a consequence of his blind indulgence 
in drink during his diseased periods, the dipsomaniac may become 
the subject of acute alcoholic delirium or of chronic alcoholism, though 
the latter is rare ; these conditions are to be looked on as results and 
not as essential features of dipsomania, which is to be defined as a 
form of periodical insanity, manifesting itself in a blind craving for 
stimulant and narcotic beverages. 

In the more serious forms, such as Spitzka describes, 
there is often found brain degeneration; if so, the prog- 
nosis is bad and a cure cannot be expected. These periodi- 
cal attacks occur with greater and greater frequency, 
and, unless cut off by some intercurrent disease, organic 
changes occur, and* a brain break with mental destruction 
may follow. 

In the less severe cases, especially those not complicated 
by organic brain changes, by lapse of memory with autom- 
atism, or by other mental disturbance, it is possible, with 
proper care and enforced seclusion during these seizures, 
to lessen their severity and to increase the intervals be- 
tween them until, finally, complete recovery follows. 

Spitzka is correct when he says that, during these recur- 
rent periods that characterize the life history of the dip- 
somaniac, they do not always confine themselves to alcohol. 
As a matter of fact, they may resort to any form of nar- 
cotic; or they may seek other and more bestial ways of 
gratifying their morbid impulses. At times they develop 
sexual perversions and hide in some brothel where they 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 9 

may give full rein to their erotic excitement ; or they retire 
to a gam.bling den where they may exercise their passions 
without hindrance ; or they exhibit other phases of social 
unrestraint. I have had patients who would go from 
one saloon to another seeking the glitter of bar attach- 
ments, delighting in the roll of dice, listening to the 
clink of coin on the polished mahogany, yet they would 
drink nothing but effervescent waters. They craved these 
particular forms of excitement, not alcoholic beverages. 

After an attack the patient will return to his home and 
business haunted by the bitter memory of his misdeeds, 
most earnest and honest in his profession of reform, and 
he cannot be persuaded to taste alcohol in any form. 
When such patients assert that they have reformed 
they are in earnest, and, at the time, nothing can induce 
them to break their pledge. Yet, when the seizure re- 
turns the impulse becomes irresistible, although for days 
they may fight off the impending catastrophe. When 
the break occurs they usually attribute it to some 
trivial cause or circumstance in no way responsible — 
some family disagreement, business disappointment, 
or even some lesser matter. Nothing is too trivial to allege 
in their attempt at explanation. 

A A study of Poe's heredity and life work makes it plain 
that many of Griswold's allegations, even when true, 
cannot justly be charged against Poe, but rather against 
his morbid heredity. This may seem too fine a distinction, 
but at least we must recognize the fact that, by reason of 
this heredity, Poe was not always to be held responsible 
for either his words or his acts, for his great accomplish- 
ments or his lapses. Heredity was as much responsible for 
the one as for the other; his heritage was pregnant with 
both good and evil. 

Precocity, of necessity, foretells early decline. I view 
brilliancy in the child as an abnormal heredity that must 



10 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

pay the price of premature decay. Only occasionally does 
it happen that the honor-child of our public schools, or 
the gold-medalist from the university, achieves distinc- 
tion either in the professions or in public or business life. 
It is true that this test, alone, is most unfair. Neither 
money nor distinction may be regarded as the criterion 
of success ; yet it is certain that the quality of brain that 
readily commits to memory without independence of 
thought, is not the quality that makes for the common 
sense and sane judgment necessary for successful com- 
petition in our highly organized professional and business 
life. On the other hand, plodders will never reach the 
heights. They can be scaled only by those that are 
endowed with genius. 

It was of old believed that certain persons were pos- 
sessed of a daimon or genius; and by these terms the 
Ancients designated what they believed to be the deity 
that possessed and buoyed up those endowed with the 
afflatus divinus. Although we have adopted this word 
we use it in a slightly different sense : 

Exalted mental power distinguished by instinctive aptitude, and 
independent of tuition ; phenomenal capability, derived from inspira- 
tion or exaltation, for intellectual creation or expression ; that con- 
stitution of the mind or perfection of faculties which enables a person 
to excel others in mental perception, comprehension, discrimination 
and expression, especially in Literature, Art, and Science. 

Genius, derived from genere (to beget), is necessarily in- 
born. It develops early and is characterized by precocity. 
It is most dangerous for the man that possesses and is 
swayed by it; yet it is an inheritance for which the indi- 
vidual possessing it is in no way responsible, nor can we 
forecast the destined end to which it will lead him. Such 
an inheritance leads oftener to disaster than to success. 
All great things are conceived by the man of genius, and 
it has been well said, "The Crank turns the World." 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 11 

Poe was a genius, and he paid the full price for his in- 
heritance. 

I do not know of any biography of Poe that, from the 
psychiatrist's point of view, presents the facts of his life 
in a manner to make the student comprehend the basic 
evil that dominated him. 

Professor James A. Harrison says : 

Poe's case has never been scientifically diagnosed by a competent 
neurologist who possessed combined pathological and literary equip- 
ment and freedom from prejudice necessary to render his case — more 
singular than 'The Case of M. Valdemar' — intelligible to the reading 
world. 

Though I may not possess these requisite qualifications, 
yet am I justified in the attempt ; the questions have fre- 
quently been asked and so often have been mistakenly 
answered as to justify a further essay in this direction. 
Poe's admirers have been overzealous in his defence, 
while his enemy basely maligned him; whether or not I 
shall be able to deal justly with the facts and arrive at 
the truth must be a matter of individual judgment. 

I am certain that the pictures painted have not truly 
represented the man : it is possible that a spirit so proud 
and a soul so sensitive may not be humanly judged nor 
accurately weighed in the scales of social justice. 

As a rule biographers deem that they have completed 
their work of establishing hereditary predispositions, on 
which later accomplishments depend, when they have 
constructed a genealogy blazed with quarterings, and all 
the more ornamental if marked with the bend sinister: or 
when they have traced . ancestry to some name great 
because of mental acquirements, or deeds performed, it is 
assumed that they have thrown a luster about their sub- 
jects that in some way glorified them. They know nothing 
of the Mendelian law of heredity. They ignore the fact 
that great genius, like that of Caesar or Napoleon, or such 



12 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

mental gifts as were bestowed upon Newton and Shakes- 
peare*, are the results of what horticulturalists call a sport, 
and occur only as an abnormality; and that not only do 
suqli geniuses not breed true to their kind, but rather tend 
to degeneracy and extinction. 

"Poor but honest" is not a bad beginning for any 
biography. The fact that a father is temperate in all 
things, fearless and honest, kindly and generous in his 
associations, and that he posesses a strong physique, free 
from all diatheses and hereditary diseases, is a heritage 
to be boasted of, and to be prized more than the wealth 
of a Rockefeller. 

It is alleged that the family of Poe traces its lineage 
to a Norman named De la Poe, who went to England 
with William the Conquerer. It is also said that certain 
of Poe's ancestors lived in Derbyshire and that among 
them was a poet, locally famous. Some evidence has been 
brought forward to show that his name is of German or 
Danish origin. Others trace his ancestry to the Poles or 
Poes of Tipperary. However, the most diligent searcher 
for the root of this genealogical tree. Sir Edmund T. 
Bewley, M.A., LL. D., F. R. S.A.I. , has proved to my 
satisfaction that Poe's great-grandfather, who emigrated 
to America when a boy, sprung from the ancestral tree 
of Donnybrook, enriched by the red-blood that pulsed in 
the veins of the Poes of Kilkenney, and that this com- 
mingling of inherited traits was strengthened when this 
ancestor married either the sister, or the aunt, or some 
other relative of Admiral McBride — genealogists dif- 
fering as to the relationship; yet it is regarded as impor- 
tant, for all of Poe's biographers dwell on this connection. 

It has been definitely ascertained that John Poe, Edgar 
Poe's great-grandfather, was an Irish immigrant who 
came to America about 1745, and that he married a Miss 
McBridc. He was a day laborer and, apparently, paid 



I 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 13 

small heed to the tree from which he sprang. At best the 
bough he brought with him was but a shillalah; had it 
been of the "seed of Elach" it would have availed him 
little. It is certain that this particular branch had not 
blossomed for many a year, and that John Poe never 
boasted of his lineage. He had never heard of the De 
La Poes, nor did he sign his name Poe and, as far as is 
known, he made no claim to noble ancestry. He was a 
man who won his way by the strength of his honest, toil- 
hardened hands; and, if related to Admiral McBride, he 
did not presume on this relationship. 

This fighting strain descended in full force to David 
Poe, the son of John Poe, and aids in explaining his sudden 
rise from a worker in wood to the rank of "General" in 
the Revolutionary army. All biographies refer to him as 
"General Poe of Revolutionary Fame." This title was 
one of courtesy only. It was assumed by David Poe 
because, at one time, he had acted as "Assistant Deputy 
Quartermaster" for the City of Baltimore. While he held 
no appointment in the revolutionary forces, he did give 
aid and comfort to them, supplying the troops of Lafayette 
with clothing, for which he was never reimbursed. 

The date of David Poe's evolution from a wheelwright 
into a dry-goods merchant is not known, nor whether he 
passed through the chrysalis stage of a tailor, as has been 
alleged. The first that is definitely known of his personal 
prowess was when he swayed and led a patriotic mob that 
rose in rebellion against tyrannical British domination — in 
this surely indicating his Irish derivation. He had a son, 
David, the father of Edgar Poe, and a daughter Maria, 
to whose child Virginia, Poe was married. In time David 
Poe became a prominent dry-goods merchant, retaining 
the title of "General." It is certain, however, that he was 
more familiar with the yard-stick than with the sword. 
He was a man of substance and high standing, and we 



14 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

honor him because he was a good citizen, loyally sup- 
ported his government, and was generous in its main- 
tenance. 

Attempts to trace heraldic escutcheon, or noble lineage, 
will add nothing to the laurels bestowed upon him be- 
cause of his unselfish patriotism. 

Occasionally family pride is justified. In such a record 
of tradition and accomplishment as the Adams family 
exhibits, I see a reason for genealogical pride in deeds 
performed — in spite of 'The Last Fruit Off An Old Tree," 
that pessimistic note that characterizes "The Education 
of Henry Adams." Again, the research work and scientific 
attainments of the family of Darwin, which for generations 
have made it a name of note, deserve recognition. In the 
case of Poe there are no such data. 

There is a study which must be made in order that we 
may account not only for the flower of fruition, but also 
for the root of the evil that afflicted Poe. What we must 
know for this purpose are certain details as to the mode of 
life and the alcoholic history of his immediate ancestors, 
as well as the moral code by which they were governed. 
That their habits were alcoholically temperate is doubt- 
ful. William Poe, a cousin, wrote Edgar as follows : 

There is one thing I am anxious to caution you against and which 
has been a great foe to our family — I hope in your case it will not be 
necessary, 'a too frequent use of the bottle.' 

Dipsomaniac compulsion, as we see exemplified in the 
life-history of Poe, presupposes an alcoholic heredity. 
David Poe, the father, developed an alcoholic syndrome 
which probably led to his early death. Disowned by his 
father for his marriage to an actress, a Miss Arnold, he 
not only failed to support her, but became dependent on 
her charity, as well as on that of others. This wife and 
mother seems to have been an intelligent and capable 
actress, though of no marked histrionic ability. We honor 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 15 

her because she bore her cross so bravely, and, in spite of 
the hardships and the strolling life she led, remained a 
faithful and loving wife and mother. 

Eugenically it was an unfortunate marriage, even if the 
world of letters was so greatly the gainer. The three chil- 
dren, William, Edgar, and Rosalie, each in some way 
showed specific evidence of this heredity. William died 
in early manhood. He probably inherited his father's 
instability of character, as well as his unstable constitu- 
tion, although I know of no direct alcoholic history. That 
he was wayward and difficult to control, and had been 
sent to sea in an effort to reform him, is all that has been 
definitely established. He is said to have possessed a fasci- 
nating personality as well as a brilliant mind. Several of 
his poems have been published, and, apparently, they 
compared favorably with Edgar's productions of the same 
period. 

The sister, Rosalie, gave stronger evidence of degener- 
acy. She was a moron, strong of body but mentally weak. 

The early death of Poe's mother resulted in his greatest 
misfortune. William F. Gill, an early Poe biographer, thus 
describes the conditions under which Mrs. Poe died : 

Mr. Allan and Mr. McKenzie, both wealthy and benevolent Scotch 
gentlemen, having been informed that the Poes were in great distress, 
sought them out to afford them relief. They were found in wretched 
lodgings, lying upon a straw bed, and very sick, Mr. Poe with con- 
sumption, and his wife with pneumonia. There was no food in the 
house. They had no money or fuel and their clothes had been pawned 
or sold. 

Two little children were with the parents, in the care of an old 
Welsh woman who had come over from England with Mrs. Poe, and 
who was understood to be her mother. The children were half clad, 
half starved, and very much emaciated. The youngest was in a stupor, 
caused by feeding them bread steeped in gin. The old woman ac- 
knowledged that she was in the habit of so feeding them *to keep 
them quiet and make them strong.' 



16 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

Two weeks later, December 1 1 , Mrs. Poe died. The fate 
of the father is uncertain although it is generally believed 
that his death preceded that of his wife. It is said that 
documents which had belonged to the Ellis-Allan firm 
and which, having been stored away, were not accessible 
to Poe biographers, rather point to desertion. 

Harrison says thatEdgar was adopted by Mr. John Allan, 
who bestowed on the boy his own name. He was never 
legally adopted, but he was cared for by Mr. Allan. 

Harrison thus describes the future home of Poe : 

At Richmond it was (and is) delightful to live, and here in 1811, 
having been adopted by Mr. John Allan, Poe took up his abode. 
During his most impressionable years, the City was the most intellec- 
tual and the gayest city in the South. It was full of old families that 
had furnished statesmen, legislators, governors, generals and Con- 
gressmen to the United States. . . . Little Edgar's childhood and 
youth were passed in an atmosphere of sociability, open-air sports, 
oratory, and elocution. 

Raised as the son of a rich man, and accustomed to all 
the luxuries that should not be given to any child, it is 
possible that such surroundings brought out and accen- 
tuated those hereditary evils that a different environ- 
ment might have modified. As far as we know, Poe's one 
expressed desire and longing was for mother-love. The 
considerate and loving care he lavished on his wife and 
her mother proves to us that, in spite of his inherited 
paternal vices, there must have been in him some of the 
staunch and lovable qualities of his mother; and the love 
that he always exhibited for Mrs. Clemm redeems him 
from the charge of having been the cold, repellent, and 
unfriended being delineated by his first biographer. 

Poe early became the spoiled pet of an admiring guard- 
ian. No more pitiful picture could be drawn than this : 

/ A pretty trick taught the boy by Mr. Allan was to drink the 
/ healths of the company in a glass of diluted wine. He would stand 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 17 

on a chair, raise the glass with all the cei:emony of those old Dominion 
days, then take a sip gracefully, then with roguish laugh, reseat 
himself amidst the applause of the company. 

We need not wonder at the peculiar form and abnormal 
character of his early drinking, considering his heredity, 
and with such environment. The gin sop could not have 
j more evilly influenced him. 

He was mentally precocious and physically well de- 
veloped. Not only was he brilliant in his classes and re- 
markable for his mental attainments, but he was the 
leader in play and all athletic exercises. No wonder the 
heart of his doting guardian warmed to a being so gifted. 
But, with all these advantages, 

Evil things in robes of sorrow 
Assailed the monarch's high estate. 

The hereditary evil, like the precocity, was also a part 
of Poe's inheritance. While yet a student there came 
reports of moral delinquencies and alcoholic excesses which 
resulted in Allan forbidding his return to the university. 
A classmate writes : 

Poe's passion for strong drink was as marked as for cards. It was 
not the taste of the beverage that influenced him; without a sip or 
smack of the mouth he would seize a full glass, without sugar or 
water, and send it home at a single gulp. 

His guardian, no longer willing to countenance his esca- 
pades, forced him to work, but, so attached was Mrs. Allan 
to the wayward boy, that an added unhappiness entered 
the Allan home. 

There is an unwritten chapter in the life of Poe, but the 
details have never been made public. They deal with the 
Allan family skeleton, which became a matter of court 
record. There was marital unhappiness due to the fact that 
Allan entered into entangling alliances that ended in a 
notorious will contest. During the life of the first Mrs. 



18 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

Allan this was probably known to her ; and it is said that 
Poe, then a young boy, was instrumental in finding out 
for her such information concerning her husband's affairs 
as she required. 

Not only was Poe not adopted by Allan, he was barely 
tolerated because of Mrs. Allan's very pronounced regard 
for him. It is said that although Allan knew of Poe's 
intention to run away from Richmond where, after his 
recall from the university, he had been compelled to 
work in Allan's tobacco warehouse, the man took no steps 
to prevent the flight, but rather encouraged it. Certain it is 
that Poe did run away and take ship for England, and that 
when this became known to Mrs. Allan she made every 
effort to force his return. Certain papers found in the 
warehouse of Allan, now known as the "Ellis-Allan Docu- 
ments," which recently have been placed in the Congres- 
sional Library, cover a period preceding the "adoption" 
of Poe, and also a considerable time after all Poe associa- 
tion had ceased. These also may contain letters that were 
taken from Mrs. Poe at the time of her death. As far as 
they relate to matters of hereditary significance regarding 
Poe, they are of value, but not for the purpose of further 
discrediting the Poe family. It is said that the undue use 
Allan made of these papers embittered Poe still more, and 
this goes far to explain the active hostility that existed 
between them. 

That Poe spent two years traveling on the continent 
of Europe, during which time he visited Russia, Greece, 
and France, is not probable.^AVe know that it was during 
this time that the first "Tanierlane" was printed in Boston, 
but the bibliographical details remain an unsolvable puz- 
zle. While we cannot account for this long period, and 
know little of the life Poe led and the influences that sur- 
rounded him, I cannot agree with Professor George Wood- 
berry's claim to the discovery that Poe enlisted in the 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 19 

army under the name of Perry and served faithfully, with 
an excellent record for sobriety and attention to his duties, 
and that his conduct was so admirable and his deportment 
so good that, at the end of two years, he was promoted to 
the highest non-commissioned grade in the service and 
honorably discharged./' 

Poe's later biograpliers have accepted this as an estab- 
lished fact, in spite of existing records which show that 
the complexion and the color of the eyes and hair of Perry 
differed from those of Poe. Even this might be accounted 
for by careless entries/My reason for doubting the discov- 
ery of Woodberry is that at no time was Poe amenable to 
the slightest restraint ; nor could he, even for the shortest 
period, brook discipline. I do not believe it possible for 
one of Poe's neurotic temperament to have contained 
himself so completely when placed under such strict disci- 
pline and in surroundings so exacting. He enlisted, but 
earned no discharge. According to a statement of the 
second Mrs. Allen a substitute released him. 

Poe finally was admitted to West Point, although he 
was over age and temperamentally unfitted for the army. 
The Perry record was used to prove Poe's personal fitness 
for such a career and to demonstrate his soldierly quali- 
ties. In his application Poe's friends falsified, representing 
his birthplace to have been Richmond and the year of his 
birth 1811. He was born in Boston in 1809, and entered 
West Point in July, 1830, when he was twenty-one years 
and six months old. 

Poe was not proud of his Boston birth, and, in the 
various statements he gave out for biographical notices, 
he named Baltimore as his birthplace. 

I do not know that any unprejudiced person can blame 
Poe for denying that he was born in Boston. It was an 
accident due to the fact that his birth occurred while his 
mother was there, with her theatrical company. His heart 



20 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

was in Richmond and, in feeling and later association, 
he was fanatically Southern. 

At West Point, for the first time, we get a lifelike por- 
trayal of Poe, the man. The picture, while illuminating, 
is not pleasing. It was drawn by a fellow student, appar- 
ently his closest friend. 

Poe evidently had seen much of life — hard life, which had 
left its imprint. As a young boy he had been admired for his 
personal beauty ; when he entered West Point his expres- 
sion was "weary, worn and discontented," and so aged did 
he appear that it was jokingly said the appointment had 
been obtained for the son, but he had died and his father 
took the vacancy. Cheap wit : but at least it showed that 
the life Poe lived before entering West Point left its mark. 

Another report current in the corps was that he was the grandson 
of Benedict Arnold. Some good-natured friend told him of it, and Poe 
did not contradict it, but seemed rather pleased than otherwise at the 
mistake. 

He neglected his studies and expressed the greatest con- 
tempt for the required military duties — very different 
from the orderly and punctilious Perry. His alcoholic 
habits there have been set forth in full. His friend paints 
his life as most irregular; as consisting of a series of 
broken rules, defiance of all authority, inveigling younger 
and less sophisticated youths into infringements of army 
regulations, and, above all, such utter disregard for all the 
canons of decency and morality, that the alienist must 
believe such actions were the result of an acute mental 
brainstorm, induced by the abuse of alcohol. 

Poe apologists have explained these acts as a ruse for es- 
caping from an irksome confinement, and as a means toward 
regaining his freedom. This is not an intelligible explan- 
ation and does not comport with the facts. Other means 
could have been adopted which more easily and more hon- 
orably would have attained this end. Rather, these acts are 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 21 

in line with the loose and irresponsible life that he had fol- 
lowed for two years before entering the Military Academy. 
It has been shown that during that time Poe'slife was most 
irregular. 

A story, current at the military academy, was told by 
General Magruder: 

He made a voyage to sea on some merchant vessel, before the mast. 
Finding himself in the Mediterranean, he debarked at some Eastern 
port and penetrated into Egypt and Arabia. Returning to the United 
States, he enlisted as a private in the United States Army at Fort- 
ress Monroe. After some months' service his whereabouts and position 
became known to Mr. Allan, who, through the mediation of General 
Scott (a cousin of the second Mrs. Allan), obtained his release from 
the army, and sent him a cadet's warrant to West Point. 

It seems to be definitely established that at no time dur- 
ing these years did Poe live an orderly and regular life. He 
undoubtedly traveled much, possibly as a sailor, for he 
could not have afforded the transportation of a tourist, 
and some time must have been spent in the United States, 
outside the army, as his Boston connection makes evident. 
In whatever way the Perry record was used, it did not 
fully represent Poe's life during the whole of that time. 

Could the facts of his life history be accurately traced, 
they would be of great psychological value; they might 
show the growth of the poisonous vine that later encircled 
and bound him, and crushed him in its vicious embrace. 
Such a disease as that from which Poe suffered is most 
insidious in its approach. The liberties indulged in youth 
and the lack of restraint laid a foundation that later no 
will-power could overcome, and which exacted a price of 
misery, depression and suffering from its victim that passes 
human understanding. 

The only thing to which Poe remained constant during 
these years of stress and storm was his love of good 
literature. 



22 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

At about the time Poe entered West Point he began a 
correspondence with Neal, editor of 'The Yankee." In 
the issue for December, 1829, and in answer to a slur- 
ring notice concerning one of his poems, referred to in 
the number for September, Poe thus wrote: 

I am about to publish a volume of poems, the greatest part 
written before I was fifteen. Speaking about 'heaven' the editor of 
the 'Yankee' said: 'He might write a beautiful if not a magnificent 
poem' — the very first words of encouragement I ever remember to 
have heard. I am certain that, so far, I have not written either, but 
that I can, I will take my oath, if they will only give me time. 

Poe quotes only the concluding paragraph. What "The 
Yankee" really said was: 

If E. A. P. of Baltimore — whose lines about heaven, though he 
seems to regard them as altogether superior to anything in the whole 
range of American poetry, save two or three trifles referred to, are, 
though nonsense, rather exquisite nonsense — would but do himself 
justice, might make a beautiful and perhaps magnificent poem. 

After declaring there was very much to justify hope and 
quoting several stanzas that any Poe lover would regard 
as typically and Poesquely melodic, the review ends with 
these lines : 

The Moonlight 

falls- 
Over hamlets, over halls, 
Wherever they may be. 
O'er the strange woods, o'er tne sea 
O'er the spirits on the wing. 
O'er every drowsy thing — 
And buried them up quite. 
In a labyrinth of light. 
And then how deep! Oh deep ! 
Is the passion of their sleep! 
He should have signed it Bah! We have no room for others. 

If these are the "first words of encouragement," then 
Poe's poetic genius must have budded in a literary frost. 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 23 

The events of Poe's life for the two years following his 
expulsion from West Point are as great a mystery as 
those of the years preceding his admittance. Apparently 
these two periods have become inextricably intermixed as 
to details, and many events said to have occurred in the 
first period are certainly duplicated in the last. It seems 
that at one time Poe did enlist in the army, and that he 
could obtain his discharge only by inducing Allan to 
supply a substitute. If, as seems probable, this enlistment 
preceded Poe's entrance to West Point, it would disprove 
Woodberry's contention as to the identity of Poe and Perry. 

The second Mrs. Allan wrote : 

As regards Edgar Poe, of my own knowledge I know nothing; 
I only saw him twice ; but all I heard of him, from those who had 
lived with him, was a tissue of ingratitude, fraud and deceit. Mr. 
Poe had not lived under Mr. Allan's roof for two years before my 
marriage (1830) and no one knew his whereabouts; his letters, which 
were very scarce, were dated from St. Petersburgh, Russia, although 
he had enlisted in the army at Boston. 

The little that is known concerning this incident, as well 
as many other facts of Poe's life at that time, is contained 
in letters held in the archives of the Valentine Museum 
at Richmond. Although the contents are known to a few 
and although they do not reflect seriously on Poe, they are 
said to contain certain passages involving persons or 
families still in Richmond, and for that reason they have 
not been made public. Concealment of any kind is an 
unfortunate circumstance: whatever may be the result 
of future investigation, there is always a tendency to 
exaggerate the most ordinary events, and the smallest fact 
may be magnified into an unwarrantable statement. 

Possibly Poe spent a part of his time in Europe, although 
it is improbable the distorted account that he related to 
Mrs. Shew during one of his mental attacks, regarding 
these European experiences, had any foundation in fact. 



24 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

At least for some months Poe did live in Baltimore and 
Richmond, and many definite details of his residence in 
those two cities are known. 

It is certain that Poe's mental capacity fully developed 
during this period, and that when he appeared before John 
P. Kennedy he had reached the zenith of his intellectual 
power. 

It was the Golden Age of his literary achievement, and 
that his genius and capacity had reached their full 
development is proved by the quality and quantity of 
tales that were included in the "Folio Club." It was this 
marvelous collection of stories that gained for him not 
only literary recognition, but what at that time was 
apparently needed more — money for the commonest neces- 
saries of life. Not only was he ill-clad, but, apparently, he 
often did not have sufficient food. 

The cause of this destitution was undoubtedly the 
serious and repeated seizures by his hereditary malady. 
From this time on we know every important event of Poe's 
life, and both his misfortunes and his successes have 
been minutely described. We find running through these 
statements accounts of intercurrent attacks of sickness 
which incapacitated him for days or weeks, at first 
infrequent but slowly increasing in number and severity 
until we have a classical picture of typical dipsomania, with 
its accompanying depressions and mental abnormalities. 
These tell the story of the evil that pursued him and con- 
tinually thwarted the best of intentions, and which made 
his life a series of financial struggles and failures. 

Poe probably was not idle, and could we obtain all the 
facts, or the contemporary magazines that contained these 
"facts," we might find contributions that could rightly 
be attributed to Poe. As far as I know, Poe rarely signed 
his name to an article, and only occasionally used even 
his initials. It is certain that he later republished, and 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 25 

preserved whatever he believed to be worthy of public 
recognition. 

The marvelous mental transformation that certainly 
did take place between the publication of "Al Aaraaf," 
when Poe was twenty, and his appearance at the age of 
twenty-four, when he presented Kennedy with his "Tales 
of the Folio Club," cannot be accounted for by studying 
"The Best Hundred Authors," or that five-foot shelf so 
extensively and adroitly advertised. Exactly what hast- 
ened the flowering of the genius with which nature en- 
dowed him we do not know ; but we must count the years 
between 1832 and 1840, when Poe, according to mortality 
tables, was still a very young man, as those of his full 
maturity. Other writers have developed as early and 
shown more pronounced maturity at the same age. "Tam- 
erlane" can, in no way, compare with Queen Mab, which 
Shelley wrote when he was eighteen ; yet these crude pro- 
ductions were the harbingers of greater achievements. 
There is necessarily some smoke and sputter before the 
rocket bursts with its scintillating brilliants. 

In spite of the aid given Poe by his guardian, and the lit- 
erary position gained by the "Tales of the Folio Club," his 
periodical seizures alienated many of his friends; and he 
was compelled to call on his literary discoverer, Kennedy, 
who thus writes : 

It is many years ago, I think perhaps as early as 1833 or 1834, that 
I found him in Baltimore in a state of starvation. I gave him clothes, 
free access to my table, and the use of horses for exercise whenever 
he chose, in fact brought him up from the very edge of despair. 

The many indiscretions with which Poe is charged at 
this time, which changed some of his former friends into 
enemies were the result of his hereditary infirmity. 

It must be remembered that dipsomania is not only 
periodical in its seizures, but that, even in its earliest 
manifestations, the patient is not responsible. His actions 



26 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

may outrage friends who assume to be vicious those things 
which are in reality the result of disease. 

Although Woodberry has covered the controverted life 
of Poe, and has fully — almost too fully — ^stated the acts 
on which Griswold based his defamatory statements, 
neither Woodberry nor any other biographer has given 
full consideration to the heredity, the obsessions, the com- 
pulsions, the frequently recurring spells of depression, and 
the nervous seizures that are a part of Poe's psychology, 
and on which we must base the explanation of those acts 
that have been so bitterly criticised. 

For this reason I shall deal with Poe's literary work only 
as far as it exhibits mental disturbance. I must discuss the 
physical facts as they affected his somatic life and ended 
in his early death. 

Undoubtedly the necessity for some form of mental 
excitement manifested itself early, as the records of the 
life Poe led at the University of Virginia and at West Point, 
as to both gambling and drinking, attest. 

It is entirely possible that the manners and customs of 
those days, as well as the stimulants which, even as a 
child, were given Poe, early developed the appetite that 
was by inheritance a part of him. It is, in my judgment, 
certain that, even without this environment, there was a 
morbid predisposition which, sooner or later, would have 
overwhelmed him. His disappearance for two or three 
years and the fact that his changed facial appearance and 
his striking personality could not have been recently 
acquired, make me believe that those years were not 
passed faithfully and temperately serving in the army, as 
we know that Perry did serve. We must believe that 
during this time Poe rapidly developed intellectually, even 
if he deteriorated morally ; and this necessarily indicates 
that, although there might have been periods of nervous 
disturbance, they were not continuous, and, as is the rule 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 17 

in such cases, that this disease was slowly assuming the 
periodical character it usually manifests. 

The first definite evidence we have of this progressive 
mental change is in a letter Poe wrote to Kennedy in 1835 : 

Excuse me, my dear Sir, if in this letter you find much incoher- 
ency. . . . My feelings at this moment are pitiable indeed. I am 
suffering under a depression of spirits such as I have never before 
suffered. I have struggled in vain against the influence of this melan- 
choly — you will believe me, when I say that I am miserable in spite of 
the great improvement in my circumstances. I say that you will be- 
lieve me, and for this simple reason, that a man who is writing for 
effect does not write thus. My heart is open before you — if it be worth 
reading, read it. I am wretched, and know-not why. Console me, — for 
you can. But let it be quickly or it will be too late. Convince me that 
it is worth one's while — that it is at all necessary to live, and you 
will prove yourself indeed my friend. Persuade me to do what is right. 
I do not mean this. I do not mean that you should consider what I 
now write you a jest — oh, pity me ! for I feel that my words are inco- 
herent — but I will recover myself. You will not fail to see that I am 
suffering under depression of spirits which will ruin me should it be 
long continued. Write me then and quickly. Urge me to do what is 
right. Fail not^-as you value your peace of mind hereafter. 

These cries of agony are not unusual in the writings of 
men of genius, and an intimate study of their lives shows 
that many of them suffered from periodical depression and 
various mental obsessions, which at times amounted to 
absolute disease. It is a phase in the life history of many 
who possess this heredity, and some cannot resist the call. 

Tolstoi in his "Confessions," John Stuart Mill in his 
"Autobiography," George Eliot, DeQuincey, Shelley, and 
many other writers describe these critical periods. 

Tolstoi tells us that his desires as to life and his views of 
death were reversed : 

The thought of suicide came to me as naturally as had come be- 
fore the ideas of improving life. That thought was so seductive that I 
had to. use cunning against myself, lest I should rashly execute it. 
At such times, I, a happy man, hid a rope from myself, so that I 



28 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

should not hang myself on a cross-beam between two closets in my 
room, and did not go out hunting with a gun in order not to be 
tempted by an easy way of doing away with myself. 

... I had a good, loving and beloved wife, good children and a 
large estate. I was respected by my neighbors and friends, was 
praised by strangers and, without any self deception, could consider 
my name famous. With all that, I was not deranged or mentally 
unsound ; on the contrary I was in the full command of my mental, 
and physical powers, 5uch as I had rarely met with in men of my 
age, . . . and while in this condition I arrived at the conclusion that 
I could not live and, fearing death, I had to use cunning against myself, 
in order that I might not take my life. . . . Long ago has been told 
the Eastern Story about the traveller who in the Steppe is overtaken 
by an infuriated beast. Trying to save himself from this animal the 
traveller jumps into a waterless well but at the bottom he sees a dragon 
who opens his jaws in order to swallow him. And the unfortunate man 
does not dare climb out lest he perish from the infuriated beast, and 
does not dare jump down to the bottom of the well, lest he be de- 
voured by the dragon, and so clutches the twig of a wild bush growing 
in the cleft of the wall and holds on to it. His hands grow weak and 
he feels that he must soon surrender to the peril that awaits him on 
either side ; but he still holds on and sees two mice, one white and the 
other black, in even measure making a circle around the main trunk 
of the bush to which he is clinging, and nibbling at it on all sides. 
Now at any moment the bush will break and be torn off and he 
will fall into the dragon's jaws. The traveller sees this and knows he 
will inevitably perish, and while he is still clinging, he sees some drops 
of honey hanging on the leaves of the bush, and so reaches out to 
them, and with his tongue he licks the leaves. Just so I hold on to 
this branch of life, knowing that the dragon of death is inevitably 
waiting for me, ready to tear me into pieces, and I cannot understand 
why I have fallen on such suffering. And I try to lick that honey, 
which used to give me pleasure ; but now it no longer gives me joy, 
and the white mouse and the black mouse, day and night, nibble at 
the branch to which I am holding. I clearly see the dragon and the 
honey is no longer sweet to me. I see only the inevitable dragon and 
the mice, and I am unable to turn my glance away from them. This is 
not a fable but a veritable, indisputable, comprehensible truth. 

This is the cry of a lost soul, and I know nothing more 
pathetic, or that better describes the mental torture from 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 29 

which such patients suffer. This desire for death is a 
psychological problem and admits of many solutions. 
Perhaps the best is that given by one of our greatest poets : 
Whatever crazy sorrow saith. 
No life that breathes with human breath 
Has ever truly long'd for death. 
Tis life, whereof our nerves are scant, 
Oh Life, not Death, for which we pant, 
More life, and fuller, that I want. 

Tennyson coUld not have written The Two Voices had 
he not passed through some such experience. It is the cry 
of a soul-obsessed melancholiac. 

Shelley expresses his own abnormal sensations in a 
somewhat different manner : 

My feelings at intervals are of a deadly and torpid kind, or awak- 
ened to such a degree of unnatural and keen excitement, that only to 
instance the organ of sight, I find the very blades of grass and the 
boughs of distant trees present themselves to me with microscopic 
distinctness. Towards evening I sink into a state of lethargy and 
inanimation, and often remain for hours on the sofa between sleep 
and waking, a prey to the most painful irritability of thought. Such, 
with little intermission, is my condition. 

John Stuart Mill, in his "Autobiography," thus describes 
a period of mental depression : 

I was in a dull state of nerves, such as everybody is occasionally 
liable to ; . . . the state, I should think, in which converts to Metho- 
dism usually are, when smitten by their first conviction of sin.* 

In this frame of mind it occurred to me to put the question directly 
to myself: 'Suppose that all your objects in life were realized; . . , 
would this be a great joy and happiness to you?' And an irrepres- 
sible self-consciousness distinctly answered, 'no!' At this my heart 
sank within me; the whole foundation on which my life was con- 
structed fell down. ... I seemed to have nothing left to live for. 

At first I had hoped that the cloud would pass away of itself; 
but it did not. ... I carried it with me into all companies, into all 
occupations. . . . For some months the cloud seemed to grow thicker 
and thicker. The lines in Coleridge's 'Dejection' exactly described 
my case : 



30 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

'A grief without a pang, void, dark and drear, 
A drowsy, stifled, unimpassioned grief, 
Which finds no natural outlet or relief 
In word, or sigh, or tear.' 

In vain I sought relief from my favorite books, ... I read them 
now without feeling, or with the accustomed feeling minus all its 
charm: ... I was thus left stranded at the commencement of my 
voyage, with a well equipped ship and rudder but no sail. ... I had 
had some gratification of vanity at too early an age ; I had attained 
some distinction, and felt myself of some importance, before the desire 
of distinction and importance had grown into a passion. The fountains 
of vanity and ambitions seemed to have dried up within me, as com- 
pletely as those of benevolence. These were the thoughts that mingled 
with the dry heavy dejection of the melancholy winter of 1 826-27. 
... In all probability my case was not so peculiar as I had imagined 
it, and I doubt not that many others have passed through a similar 
state. ... I frequently asked myself, if I could, or if I was bound to 
go on living, when life must be passed in this manner. I generally 
answered to myself, that I did not think I could possibly bear it be- 
yond a year. When, however, not more than half that duration of 
time had elapsed, a small ray of light broke in upon my gloom. . . . 
Relieved from my ever present sense of irremediable wretchedness, I 
gradually found that the ordinary incidents of life could again give 
me some pleasure ; that I could again find enjoyment, not intense, but 
sufficient for cheerfulness, in sunshine and sky, in books, in conver- 
sation, in public affairs ; . . . thus the cloud gradually drew off, and 
I again enjoyed life; and though I had several relapses, some of 
which lasted for months, I never again was as miserable as I had 
been. 

Mill was right in believing that many others had 
"passed through a similar state." But not all have the for- 
titude to bear it so patiently, and allow time to conquer so 
victoriously. 

Borrow's peculiar style and morbid introspective imag- 
inings necessarily had for a foundation this depressive, 
and, at times, absolutely disordered mental state due to a 
neurosis. His peculiar understanding of Peter the Welch 
preacher, the "Apple- woman," as well as many of his 



1 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 31 

other characters, must have had as a basis personal ex- 
perience with these states of depression. As illustrating 
this state of mind his description of the "Horror" that 
came upon him in the dingle is unsurpassed. 

Heaviness had suddenly come over me, heaviness of heart and 
of body also. ... So there I sat in the dingle upon my stone, 
nerveless and hopeless : there I sat with my head leaning upon my 
hand, and began to cast anxious, unquiet looks about the dingle — 
the entire hollow was now in deep shade — I cast my eyes up; there 
was a golden gleam on the tops of the trees which grew toward the 
upper part of the dingle; but lower down all was gloom and 
twilight — yet when I first sat down on my stone, the sun was 
right over the dingle — so I must have sat a long, long time upon 
my stone. . , . Suddenly I started up, and could scarcely 
repress the shriek which was rising to my lips. Was it possible? 
Yes, all too certain; the evil one was upon me; the inscrutable 
horror which I had felt in my boyhood had once more taken 
possession of me. ... I felt it gathering force, and making 
me more wholly its own. What should I do? — resist, of course; 
and I did resist. I grasped, I tore, and strove to fling it from me; 
but of what avail was my effort? I could only have got rid of it 
by getting rid of myself. I rushed among the trees, and struck at 
them with my bare fists, and dashed my head against them, but I 
felt no pain. How could I feel pain with the horror upon me! And 
then I flung myself on the ground, gnawed the earth, and swal- 
lowed it; and then I looked round; it was almost total darkness 
in the dingle, and the darkness added to my horror. 

De Quincey, in a letter he wrote to Miss Mitford, 
attempts to make plain the mental agony from which he 
occasionally suffered : 

No purpose could be answered by my vainly endeavouring to 
make intelligible for my daughters what I cannot make intelligible for 
myself— the undecipherable horror that night and day broods over 
my nervous system. One effect of this is to cause, at uncertain inter- 
vals, such whirlwinds of impatience as precipitate me violently, 
whether I will or not, into acts that would seem insanities, but are 
not such in fact, as my understanding is never under any delusion. 
Whatever I am writing suddenly becomes overspread with a dark 



32 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

frenzy of horror. I am using words, perhaps, that are tautologic ; but it 
is because no language can give expression to the sudden storm of 
frightful revelations opening upon me from an eternity not coming, 
but past and irrevocable. Whatever I may have been writing is sud- 
denly wrapt, as it were, in one sheet of consuming fire — the very paper 
is poisoned to my eyes. I cannot endure to look at it, and I sweep it 
away into vast piles of unfinished letters, or inchoate essays begun and 
interrupted under circumstances the same in kind, though differing 
unaccountably in degree. . . . One inevitable suggestion at first arose 
to everybody consulted — viz., that it might be some horrible recoil 
from the long habit of using opium to excess. But this seems improba- 
ble for more reasons that one. 1st. Because previously to any consid- 
erable abuse of opium — viz., in the year 1812, — I suffered an unac- 
countable attack of nervous horror which lasted for five months, and 
went off in one night as unaccountably as it had first come on in one 
second of time. I was at that time perfectly well. 

DeQuincey, Coleridge, Lamb, Swinburne, and others 
did not hesitate to use opium and other narcotizing drugs 
\ as well as stimulants to ease these prenatally induced 
pains. 

Are there not mortals suffering from morbid mental 
states who inhabit a Kingdom undiscovered to most of us : 
those sensitive of soul and endowed with an abnormal per- 
ception and a spirit of unrest — a coterie of Sensitives 
who wear the fetters of heredity, and who can be neither 
measured by man-made standards, nor judged by pre- 
vailing customs, nor bound by our moral laws ; who worship 
at a shrine more earthy natures can not perceive? It is 
possible that they are presided over by a priestess whose 
arch- votary thus describes her : 

Hush! whisper whilst we talk of her! 

Her kingdom is not large, or else no flesh should live; but within 
that kingdom all power is hers. Her head, turreted like that of Cybele, 
rises almost beyond the reach of sight. She droops not; and her eyes 
rising so high might be hidden by distance. But, being what they are, 
they cannot be hidden ; through the treble veil of crape which she 
wears, the fierce light of a blazing misery, that rests not for matins or 
vespers, for noon of day or noon of night, for ebbing or for flowing 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 33 

tide, may be read from the very ground. She is the defier of God. She 
also is the mother of lunacies, and the suggestress of suicides. Deep lie 
the roots of her power; but narrow is the nation that she rules. For 
she can approach only those in whom a profound nature has been 
upheaved by central convulsions; in whom the heart trembles and 
the brain rocks under conspiracies of tempest from without and 
tempest from within. She moves with incalculable motions, bound- 
ing, and with a tiger's leaps. She carries no key; for, though coming 
rarely amongst men, she storms all doors at which she is permitted 
to enter at all. And her name is Mater Tenebrarum, — Our Lady of 
Darkness. 

Was it this same Kingdom that Poe glimpsed in his 
Siope—A Fable?'' 

'Listen to me, said the Demon, as he placed his hand upon my 
head. There is a spot upon this accursed earth which thou hast 
never yet beheld. And if by any chance thou hast beheld it, it must 
have been in one of those vigorous dreams which come like the 
Simoon upon the brain of the sleeper who hath lain down to sleep 
among the forbidden sunbeams — among the sunbeams, I say, which 
slide from off the solemn columns of the melancholy temples in the 
wilderness. The region of which I speak is a dreary region in Lybia, 
by the borders of the river Zaire. And there is no quiet there, nor 
silence. 

The waters of the river have a saffron and sickly hue — and they 
flow not onwards to the sea, but palpitate forever and forever beneath 
the red eye of the sun with a tumultuous and convulsive motion. For 
many miles on either side of the river's oozy bed is a pale desert of 
gigantic water-lilies. They sigh one unto the other in that solitude, 
and stretch towards the heaven their long ghastly necks, and nod to 
and fro their everlasting heads. And there is an indistinct murmur 
which Cometh out from among them like the rushing of subterrene 
water. And they sigh one unto the other. . . . And the tall primoeval 
trees rock eternally hither and thither with a crashing and mighty 
sound. And from their high summits, one by one, drop everlasting 
dews. And at their roots strange poisonous flowers lie writhing in per- 
turbed slumber. And overhead, with a rustling and loud noise the 
grey clouds rush westwardly forever, until they roll, a cataract, over 
the fiery wall of the horizon. But there is no wind throughout the 

*First Version Baltimore Bcx)k 1838. 



34 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

heaven. And by the shores of the river Zaire there is neither quiet nor 
silence. 

*It was night, and the rain fell; and, falling, it was rain, but, 
having fallen, it was blood. . . . 

'And, all at once, the moon arose through the thin ghastly mist, 
and was crimson in color. And mine eyes fell upon a huge grey rock 
which stood by the shore of the river, and was litten by the light of the 
moon. And the rock was grey, and ghastly, and tall, — and the rock 
was grey. Upon its front were characters engraven in the stone ; . . . 
and the characters were DESOLATION. 

'And I looked upwards, and there stood a man upon the summit 
of the rock. . . . And the outlines of his figure were indistinct — but 
his features were the features of a Deity ; for the mantle of the night, 
and of the mist, and of the moon, and of the dew, had left uncovered 
the features of his face. And his brow was lofty with thought, and his 
eye wild with care; and in the few furrows upon his cheek, I read the 
fables of sorrow, and weariness, and disgust with mankind, and a long- 
ing after solitude. ... He looked down into the low unquiet shrub- 
bery, and up into the tall primoeval trees, and up higher at the 
rustling heaven, and into the crimson moon. . . . 

'And the man turned his attention from the heaven, and looked 
out upon the dreary river Zaire, and upon the yellow ghastly waters, 
and upon the pale legions of the water-lilies. 

'Then I cursed the elements with the curse of tumult; and a 
frightful tempest gathered in the heaven where before there had been 
no wind, and the heaven became livid with the violence of the tempest 
— and the rain beat upon the head of the man — and the floods of the 
river came down — and the river was tormented into foam — and the 
water-lilies shrieked within their beds — and the forest crumbled before 
the wind — and the thunder rolled, — and the lightning fell — and the 
rock rocked to its foundation. . . 

'Then I grew angry and cursed, with the curse of silence, the river, 
and the lilies,and the wind, and the forest.and the heaven, and the 
thunder, and the sighs of the water-lilies. And they became accursed 
and were still. And the moon ceased to totter in its pathway up the 
heaven — and the thunder died away — and the lightnings did not flash 
— and the clouds hung motionless — and the waters sunk to their level 
and remained — and the trees ceased to rock — and the water-lilies 
sighed no more — and the murmur was heard no longer from among 
them, nor any shadow of sound throughout the vast illimitable desert. 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 35 

And I looked upon the characters of the rock, and they were changed 
— and the characters were SILENCE. 

'And mine eyes fell upon the countenance of the man, and his 
countenance was wan with terror. And, hurriedly, he raised his head 
from his hand, and stood forth upon the rock, and listened. But there 
was no voice throughout the vast illimitable desert, and the char- 
acters upon the rock were SILENCE. And the man shuddered, and 
turned his face away, and fled afar off, and I beheld him no more.' . . . 

Visions such as these are not for normal eyes, but may 
be viewed, though dimly, by those super-mortally hyper- 
metropic, and who must pay the price for their genius- 
gifted inheritance. Many are overcome by these hereditary 
states of mental depressions and compulsions, and suicide 
ends their mental struggle. 

Can we blame Poe if he did resort to alcohol and nar- 
cotics that he might numb such morbid mental anguish ? 
This attack which he described was probably a character- 
istic seizure, and others followed with increasing frequency. 
We know that they occurred periodically and, occasionally, 
interrupted his work. 

In 1835 Poe was made acting editor of the "Southern 
Literary Messenger," owned and managed by T. W. White. 
These lapses apparently interfered with his duties. They 
seriously discommoded White, and at times prevented 
the prompt issuance of the magazine. As early as 1835 
White wrote him : 

Would that it were in my power to unbosom myself to you in 
language such as I could, on the present occasion, wish myself master 
of. I cannot do it — and therefore must be content to speak to you in 
my plain way. That you are sincere in all your promises I firmly be- 
lieve. But, Edgar, when you once again tread these streets, I have my 
fears that your resolves would fall through, and that you would again 
sip the juice, even till it stole away your senses. You have fine talents, 
Edgar, — and you ought to have them respected as well as yourself. 
Learn to respect yourself, and you will soon find that you are respected. 
Separate yourself from the bottle, and bottle companions, forever! 



36 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

Apparently all went well for several months. In 1836 
Poe wrote to his friend Kennedy, evidently with his former 
letter in mind : 

Mr. White is very liberal, and besides my salary of $520 pays me 
liberally for extra work, so that I receive nearly $800. Next year, that 
is at the commencement of the second volume, I am to get $1,000. 
Besides this I receive, from Publishers, nearly all new publications. 
My friends in Richmond have received me with open arms, and my 
reputation is extending — especially in the South. Contrast all this with 
those circumstances of absolute despair in which you found me, and 
you will see how great reason I have to feel grateful to God — and to 
yourself. 

On May 16, 1836, Poe was married to Virginia, the 
daughter of his aunt Mrs. Clemm, who at that time 
was a child under the age of fourteen. He made a home 
with his aunt and she was his chief support ever after, 
as well as his Mother-in-fact. She nursed him through 
his seizures and aided him so intelligently and loyally 
that we must attribute to her the saving grace that 
repeatedly snatched Poe from the brink near to which he 
frequently and perilously trod. Without her ministering 
aid he could not have attained those literary heights that 
he now dominates. 

Nothing definite is known as to the exact cause that 
led to Poe's expulsion from this little paradise. Until Janu- 
ary, 1837, he acted as editor; and during all this time the 
"Messenger" increased in circulation and became recog- 
nized as one of the well edited magazines. White probably 
would have kept his promises and would have continued 
the association indefinitely, had not some serious inter- 
current seizure prevented. While this cause is not on 
record, we know Poe's infirmity, and it is not difficult 
to deduce the reason. Poe during this time agairl suffered 
from depressive seizures and probably resorted to stimu- 
lants. White, in several letters he wrote to Lucian Minor, 
the later editor, thus refers to Poe : 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 37 

Poe is now in my employ — not as editor. He is unfortunately rather 
dissipated — and therefore I can place very little reliance upon him. 
His disposition is quite amiable. He will be of some assistance to me 
in proofreading — at least I hope so. 

A few days later he again wrote : 

Poe has flew the track already. His habits were not good. He is in 
addition a victim of melancholy. I should not be at all astonished to 
hear that he had been guilty of suicide. 

From these letters it appears that Poe was unfitted for 
work, but whether this was due to the fact that "Poe has 
flew the track," or to his depression, which might in time 
cause him to be "guilty of suicide," or to a combination of 
these conditions which were the result of his morbid inheri- 
tance, is an immaterial matter. The evil predisposition was 
slowly asserting itself and Poe was no longer entirely 
master of his actions ; he was swayed by his compelling 
neurosis. 

Kennedy states : 

Poe was irregular, eccentric and querulous and soon gave up his 
place. 

Poe in writing to Snodgrass as to his habits at this time 
said: 

For a brief period, while I resided at Richmond and edited the 
'Messenger' I certainly did give way, at long intervals, to the tempta- 
tion held out by the spirit of Southern conviviality. 

My sensitive temperament could not stand an excitement which 
was an everyday matter to my companions. In short, it sometimes 
happened that I was completely intoxicated. For some days after 
each excess I was completely prostrated and invariably confined to 
my bed. 

It is not probable that this separation was voluntary on 
Poe's part, inasmuch as he accepted articles for the 
"Messenger" several days after his connection had ceased, 
without referring to the fact that he was no longer in 
editorial charge. He merely said that his delay in answering 
was due to "ill health and a weight of varying and haras- 



38 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

sing business." Apparently Poe still hoped to resume his 
former connection. Though there was no one to take his 
position, and he certainly had no plans for the future, he 
resigned from the "Messenger" in January, 1837, leaving 
one of his stories unfinished, and issued this farewell note : 

Mr. Poe's attention being called in another direction, he will de- 
cline, with this present number, the editorial duties of the 'Messenger.' 
. . . With the best wishes to the magazine and to its few foes as well 
as to its many friends, he is now desirous of bidding all parties a 
peaceable farewell. 

White recognized the disease from which Poe suffered 
and sympathized with the victim. At the same time he 
realized the impossibility of holding Poe to routine work. 

There was developed during this time the marvelous 
critical faculty that gave the "Messenger" the right to be 
ranked with the metropolitan journals of New York and 
Philadelphia, and which established Poe as a literary 
critic of the very highest authority. Time has fully vin- 
dicated his criticisms of the great and the near-great ; and 
many names are known to us, not because Griswold and 
Duyckinck included them in their anthologies and the 
"Encyclopedia of American Literature," but because they 
have been pilloried by Poe in his "Marginalia" and 
"Literati." It is true that many of these criticisms were 
unnecessarily caustic. 

It may be admitted that at times Poe did go beyond 
legitimate criticism and apparently he used this method 
to convey his own theories of composition and his re- 
jection of the prevailing modes that disfigured our early 
literature. Fully to appreciate the enormity of these 
literary crimes one must read the "Lady's Book," the 
"Gentleman's," the "Burton's," and the "Graham's" of 
those days ; the ' 'Mirror' ' with Willis' Pencillings by the Way 
as well as less well-known publications such as "Colum- 
bian Lady's and Gentleman's Magazine," "Sartain's," 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 39 

*'Union Magazine," the "American Museum" and other 
contemporary publications with their reviews and trashy 
stories and poems. They are, of all Americana, the most 
difficult to collect and, when found, least repay the search, 
except as they contain Poe contributions. Most of these 
periodicals have been dead these many years; and the 
stones marking their resting places are so overgrown with 
the moss of oblivion that soon it will be impossible to 
find them. Even the "Southern Literary Messenger" and 
"Broadway Journal," to each of which Poe's contributions 
gave distinct literary value, have perished for lack of 
appreciation, so that complete files have become biblio- 
graphical rarities. 

Poe's critical faculty was such that, whatever the 
cost, however hard he tried to soften his literary judg- 
ments (at times Poe did fawn when the wolf pressed 
him too ferociously) , sooner or later his real opinions must 
have utterance. 

Poe's mind was elementary and it saw only that which 
was essentially true. It was not the retort of the chemist 
that transforms the atoms of the elements into the mole- 
cule, completely changing form, color, and substance. It 
was rather the primitive alembic of the alchemist and, 
with all his effort, Poe could not change the zinc and cop- 
per atoms into a new chemical combination. It remained 
brass and he detected and so described it. He could not 
make dross into gold, but he almost succeeded where the 
alchemist failed — changing the leaden weights that held 
him down into a glorious aureola. However hard he 
tried to analyze and render homogeneous the incongru- 
ous mass, sooner or later, as he warmed to his work, the 
dregs and impurities of the mixture were dissolved, and 
out of the capital of his alembic poured the liquid essence 
of Truth. 

He could reproduce only what, to his mind, actually ex- 



40 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

isted, and it came forth so surcharged with literary wrath 
that only the scorched victim could dissent. 

For this reason many of Poe's contemporaries held him 
in bitter memory and were easily persuaded to believe the 
evil reports that were circulated, although their basis was 
never investigated or properly understood. 

We know nothing of Poe's alcoholic habits between his 
departure from Richmond and the commencement of his 
association with W. E. Burton in the conduct of the "Gen- 
tleman's Magazine," in July, 1839. This is probably due 
to the fact that he occupied no editorial or other respon- 
sible position, and was accountable only to a loving and 
forgiving wife and mother. That there were long periods 
of sobriety, and that his conduct caused no remark, is 
established by contemporary evidence, although it is prob- 
able that his periodical seizures continued. 

Within a few months after his association with Burton 
we find letters showing that these attacks were inter- 
fering again with his editorial duties. The methodical, 
practical Burton could not sympathize with what he 
believed to be Poe's melancholy and irritable tempera- 
ment; and, even when justified, he did not approve of 
Poe's critical severity. 

I am not trammelled by any vulgar consideration of expediency ; 
I would rather lose money than by such undue severity to wound the 
feelings of a kind hearted and honorable man. 

This was in a letter of expostulation Burton wrote to 
Poe, occasioned apparently by some serious misunder- 
standing, the exact nature of which is not known. Poe, 
on the other hand, held Burton in supreme contempt, 
not because he was an actor, but because of his literary 
pretensions. 

Evidently Burton had made some statement, possibly 
using the word "drunkard" in describing Poe's alcoholic 
excesses ; for, |in a letter that Poe wrote Dr. Snodgrass, 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 41 

soon after this time, from which I have already quoted, 
he says : 

I would institute a suit, forthwith, for his personal defamation 
of myself. He would be unable to prove the truth of his allegations. I 
could prove their falsity and their malicious intent by witnesses who, 
seeing me at all hours of every day, would have the best right to 
speak — I mean Burton's own clerk, Morell, and the compositors of 
the printing office. I should obtain damages. But, on the other hand, 
I have never been scrupulous as to what I have said of him. I have 
always told him to his face, and everybody else, that I looked upon 
him as a blackguard and a villain. This is notorious. If I sue, he sues; 
you see how it is. ... I would take it as an act of kindness — not to 
say justice on your part, if you would see the gentleman to whom 
you spoke and ascertain with accuracy all that may legally avail me, 
what and when were the words he used. . . . 

You are a physician, and I presume no physician can have diffi- 
culty in detecting a drunkard at a glance. You are, moreover, a liter- 
ary man well read in morals. You will never be led to believe that I 
could write what I daily write as I write it, were I what this villain 
would induce those who know me not, to believe. In fine, I pledge 
you before God, the solemn word of a gentleman, that I am temper- 
ate even to rigor. 

The statement which follows, that "nothing stronger 
than water ever passed my lips," could refer only to his 
period of sobriety during the time that he was editor of 
Burton's "Gentleman's Magazine." 

This passage bears evidence of having been written 
immediately after one of Poe's attacks, while his brain 
was still sore from congestion due to over-indulgence, and 
when he was not altogether responsible for his actions or 
his speech, as is frequently the case following such seizures. 

Between these attacks the best of resolutions are made, 
and nothing can induce dipsomaniacs to drink ; nor have 
they the slightest realization of their true condition or the \/ 
danger of relapse. Such patients hotly resent criticism 
of any kind, and any reference to their habits only angers 
them. Their one cry is that they have completely reformed. 



42 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

so why discuss a matter that is definitely and unalterably 
settled? In their own opinion their cure is complete and 
permanent. 

In no sense can Poe be considered either a drunkard or 
a toper: for the disease is periodical in its seizures and, 
between the attacks, such unfortunates are most abstemi- 
ous, the avoidance of alcohol being as characteristic as is 
the uncontrollable desire for some form of stimulant or 
narcotic when their nerve-storm does break. Poe, in denying 
the allegations, was self-deceived. It is a peculiarity of 
such persons not only to believe that they have com- 
pletely recovered, but also to resent any question as to 
permanency. A marked example of this was the functional 
heart disturbance Poe at times exhibited, and which was 
the basis for Mrs. Shew's prognosis of Poe's early death 
because of an organically diseased heart. After the tenth 
beat of Poe's heart there was an intermission, and the 
discovery of this intermittent action caused her profound 
worry. Evidently these fears were communicated to Poe, 
for the doggerel that he wrote was probably based on this 
"diagnosis." Nature is a queer old mother, and seems to 
have the art of concealing from her victims the most hope- 
less and incurable of her diseases. On the other hand she 
magnifies and exaggerates many of the symptoms that 
are purely hysterical. 

It is possible for the wise physician to base his diagnosis 
on the psychology of such patients. When one comes com- 
plaining of heart disease, counting his pulse, and fearing 
death from heart failure, I feel certain that I have to deal 
with a neurasthenic whose heart is organically sound, but 
whose pneumogastric nervous system is deranged, and 
that a disturbed stomach is the organ involved. The best 
evidence I can have that persons are not insane is their 
fear that insanity is developing; or that they have not 
consumption when they magnify the slightest bronchitis 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 43 

into this dread disease. On the other hand, when it is ap- 
parent to all that day by day they are wasting away, such 
patients cannot be made to realize the gravity of their con- 
dition, and frequently buoy the hopes of their friends by 
this courageous attitude. Spes Phthisici is a medical 
truism. I rarely if ever converse with an insane person who 
believes that he is insane. It is pitiful to watch a paretic 
who builds his aircastles, dreams his dreams of untold 
wealth and supreme power, yet never realizes his loss of 
reflex control which makes him a source of disgust and 
loathing to all who must meet him and minister to his 
necessities. 

In spite of the fact that Poe resented what he believed 
to be the unjust treatment he had received. Burton did 
actively interest himself in securing for Poe an editorial 
connection with a new magazine. This was a consolidation 
of the "Gentleman's" with the "Casket" and was to be 
issued as "Graham's." Poe, however, had reached that 
period in his morbid mental life when he was not, at 
all times, responsible for his utterances, and there were 
periods when he no longer possessed the ability to dis- 
criminate between criticism kindly meant and utterances 
really slanderous. 

Although Poe had left Burton voluntarily and for the 
purpose of establishing a magazine of his own, this inten- 
tion was abandoned probably because there was an inter- 
current attack of his old malady. Apparently he was inca- 
pacitated several weeks, and, on his recovery, was em- 
ployed by George Graham as associate editor of the new 
magazine. Long periods of sobriety must have followed 
these seizures, for much good work in the way of stories, 
poems, and critical reviews by Poe now appeared, and 
Graham's own testimony fully establishes the kindly rela- 
tions that existed between them. 

Undoubtedly there were lapses that caused Poe occas- 



44 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

ionally to neglect his editorial duties. Once, on returning 
to his office after several days' absence, he found Griswold 
occupying his chair. It is probable Graham intended this 
substitution to be only a temporary arrangement. Poe 
bitterly resented it, as, in these later years, he did most 
things when crossed, and refused all further editorial asso- 
ciation. Yet he and Graham remained on friendly terms. 

Poe's whole ambition and efforts were now centered on 
establishing a new magazine to be known as the "Stylus," 
and this idea became an obsession. 

About this same time he had under consideration a gov- 
ernment position in Philadelphia, where he expected to 
publish his magazine. He went to Washington with the 
purpose of securing subscribers for his new periodical, and 
also of obtaining the President's sanction for this political 
appointment, hoping to exert influence through Tyler's 
literary sons. 

He might have succeeded in this had there not been a 
return of his inherited "evil possession." A friend, F. W. 
Thomas, who became alarmed at his condition, because 
he feared Poe might injure his political prospects, wrote : 

He arrived here a few days since. On the first evening he seemed 
somewhat excited, having been overpersuaded to take some port 
wine. On the second day he kept pretty steady, but since then he has 
been, at intervals, quite unreliable. He exposes himself here to those 
who may injure him very much with the President, and thus prevent 
us from doing for him what we wish to do and what we can do if he is 
himself again in Philadelphia. 

. . . Under all circumstances of the case, I think it advisable for 
you to come and see him safely back to his home. 

Poe's own explanation is as follows : 

I arrived here in perfect safety, and sober, about half past four . . . 
I went immediately home, took a warm bath and supper, and then 
went to Clarke's. He thought by Dow s epistle that I must not only 
be dead but buried. ... I told him what had been agreed on — that 
I was a little sick, and that Dow, knowing I had been, in times past, 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 45 

given to spreeing upon an extensive scale, had become unduly alarmed, 
etc., etc., — that when I found that he had written, I thought it best to 
come home. 

Thomas, who was an office holder in Washington, and 
who had suggested to Poe that he make this application, 
gives some interesting details as to certain phases of Poe's 
sickness : 

If he took but one glass of weak wine, or beer, or cider, the Rubi- 
con of the cup had been passed with him, and it almost always ended 
in excess and sickness. But he fought against the propensity as hard 
as ever Coleridge fought against it and I am inclined to believe after 
his experience and suffering, if he could have gotten office with a 
fixed salary that he would have redeemed himself, at least at this 
time. The accounts of his derelictions in this respect after I knew 
him were very much exaggerated. I have seen men who drank bottles 
of wine to Poe's wine glass, who yet escaped all imputation of intem- 
perance. His was one of those temperaments whose only safety is in 
total abstinence. He suffered terribly after any indiscretion. 

For several years no one was associated more closely 
with Poe than Dr. English. His statement is : 

His offenses against sobriety were committed at irregular intervals. 
He had not that physical constitution that would permit him to be a 
regular drinker. He was not even a frequent drinker when I knew 
him. 

Another friend writes : 

I, the most innocent of divinity students, at that time (1847) 
while walking with Poe, and feeling thirsty, pressed him to take a 
glass of wine with me. He declined but finally compromised by taking 
a glass of ale with me. Almost instantly a great change came over 
him. Previously engaged in an indescribably eloquent conversation 
he became as if paralyzed, and, with compressed lips and fixed glassy 
eyes, returned, without uttering a word, to the house which we were 
visiting. For hours the strange spell hung over him. He seemed a 
changed being, as if stricken by some peculiar phase of insanity. 

Poe in a letter to Eleveth (February, 1848,) makes the 
following explanation, which appears to have been written 



\ 



-r 



46 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

in good faith, and at the time it was written represented 
his own estimate of his physical health : 

My habits are rigorously abstemious, and I omit nothing of the 
natural regimen necessary for health: i. e, I rise early, eat moderately, 
drink nothing but water, and take abundant and regular exercise in 
the air. But this is my private life — my studious and literary life — 
and, of course, escapes the eye of the world. The desire for society 
comes upon me only when I have become excited by drink. Then only 
I go — that is, at these times only I have been in the practice of going 
among my friends; who seldom, or, in fact, never having seen me 
unless excited, take it for granted I am always so. . . . But enough 
of this; the causes which maddened me to the drinking point are no 
more, and I am done drinking forever. 

The same old cry ! 

Occasionally one of Poe's biographers confuses the con- 
dition of being "drunk, "by which usually is meant physical 
paralysis accompanied by mental confusion, with that 
more serious condition of forgetfulness or mental aliena- 
tion, which occasionally the mildest stimulant will pro- 
duce, or that still more subtle and less easily explained 
mental abnormality manifested by a complete change of 
personality. (There is much evidence that Poe could take 
large quantities of stimulants without producing physical 
drunkennesqr^ 

Pierre Janet, M. D. of Paris, one of our most recent 
writers on Alcoholism regarded as a disease, asserts : 

It is not sufficient to say that an alcoholic is a man who drinks 
alcoholic beverages, nor to add that he partakes of such beverages 
in large quantities and often. We must not fail to distinguish 
between alcoholism and excess in drinking. An ordinary drunken 
man is not an alcoholic. He may possibly become one but he is 
not yet one. He does not present the moral defects of an alcoholic. 
He is not subject to the same accidents. He is not so dangerous to 
future generations. Drunkeness consists in a disorder of actions 
and of idea-association, which is rapidly evoked by the absorption 
of alcohol. A drunken man is a person whose mental condition was 
normal but who, under the influence of alcohol, rapidly enters an 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 47 

abnormal state. Nothing of the kind takes place as regards the 
alcoholic. On the contrary he may not become intoxicated. . . . 
Alcoholism is not an intoxication of an accidental nature, which 
will disappear and leave no traces if alcohol is suppressed. We 
are dealing with an alteration of the mind — a mental disease — 
antecedent to the present absorption of alcohol and in one sense 
independent of alcohol. This antecedent alteration explains the 
role that the absorption of alcohol plays and also the intense 
craving that alcoholics manifest for their particular form of poison. 

After dipsomania has reached that stage where organic 
changes have taken place in the coverings of the brain, the 
slightest alcoholic stimulation may produce profound dis- 
turbance, morally and mentally. One drink may change 
the whole moral atmosphere and produce a state of mental 
irresponsibility, even when there is no corresponding 
physical change apparent. Occasionally, even without any 
stimulant, there may develop an abnormal mental condi- 
tion, the so-called change in personality which we so freely 
discuss without any real knowledge as to how it does occur, 
further than that there is a changed mental life. Things are 
said and done while in this condition that are totally op- 
posed to the speech and conduct ordinarily characterizing 
these patients, and, on recovery, they may have no memory 
of what has occurred. 

After this failure to establish either himself or his jour- 
nal, Poe left Philadelphia and took up his residence in New 
York. There he was employed by N. P. Willis for detail 
work on the "Mirror.'* The next eighteen months he led a 
more or less abstemious life, although there is a record of 
at least two relapses. 

Poe's reputation was now fully established and he was 
received, and was visited, by literary New York. In con- 
sequence we have many intimate details of his life and sur- 
roundings both from visitors at Fordham and from those 
who met him in the salons of those days. 

Although Poe's employment on the "Mirror"* was of but 



48 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

three months' duration, its petty details arid necessarily 
regular hours were most trying. With all its requirements, 
however, Poe most faithfully complied. This connection 
gave Willis a first hand and intimate acquaintance with 
Poe which he later used in refutation of the memoir Gris- 
wold published. 

Poe's connection with the "Mirror" ceased in February, 
1845, at which time there was published, both in the 
"Mirror" and in the "American Whig Review" Poe's most 
famous poem, The Raven. This poem is probably better 
known to the world than any other in English literature. 
While it is possible that had it not been for The Raven 
Poe's name would have meant no more than that of Willis, 
Paulding, or others of the early American writers, this poem 
has been his redemption and finally his vindication. 

We must judge Poe by his works rather than by the 
hasty and ill-natured conclusions of certain of his con- 
temporaries. He cannot be held responsible for his heredi- 
tary seizures and ought to be judged leniently. He should 
be classed with those equally unfortunate in the matter 
of heredity or habit. Lamb, Shelley, Swinburne, Coleridge 
and De Quincey, as associates, would have constituted a 
literary Aidenn which even Poe, solitary that he was, might 
have welcomed. Surely his life will bear a far fuller investi- 
gation than will certain of those I have mentioned. 

It has been to me a cause of wonder that a single poem or 
story has not only established a literary reputation, but 
has transmitted the writer's name to posterity in some 
definite way. The name of Gray is known to us, not by 
reason of his heavy and dull poetical essays, but by the 
Elegy which, in a peculiar way, appeals both to the un- 
derstanding and the heart. Shelley's name might have at- 
tracted the attention of the literati even without The 
Skylark and The Cloud — to me the most beloved of all 
poems : few would have had the patience to search for the 



^ 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 49 

beauties of his long poems. Coleridge might have ranked as 
an essayist or monologist, but suppress the Ancient 
Mariner and his name would have been unknown to the 
great majority of readers. 
That stanza: 

Westward the course of empire takes its way; 
The four first acts already passed, 

A fifth shall close the drama with the day ; 
Time's noblest offspring is the last, 
has given a substance that is real and a reputation that is 
permanent to a transcendental philosopher who taught 
the non-existence of things material. Neither as a poet 
nor as a scientist has Berkeley earned the distinction that 
now immortalizes his name. His only contribution to 
science was his elaborate treatise on "Tar Water" as a 
cure of human ills, ranking in scientific value with Digby 's 
"Weapon Salve" ; nor can we recognize him as a poet, for 
the verses containing these lines were his only contribution 
to literature and faulty as they are in prosody the pre- 
ceding lines are worse. Nor does he deserve a reputation 
as a philosopher, for his "Dialogues" and his "Principles of 
Human Knowledge" have become a part of 

That dust of Systems and of Creeds 
which clog and cumber the world with worthless theories. 

Even though this stanza refers to a college Berkeley 
was attempting to establish in Bermuda, Berkeley has 
been selected as the name of my own alma mater: a greater 
honor could have been conferred on no man or a more 
noble monument erected in his memory. 

It was about this time, through their mutual friend, 
Lowell, that Charles F. Briggs and Poe met. Briggs thus 
records his first impression of Poe : 

I like Poe exceedingly well. Mr. Griswold has told me shocking bad 
stories about him, which his whole demeanor contradicts. ... I have 



50 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

always strangely misunderstood Poe, from thinking him one of the 
Graham and Godey species, but I find him as different as possible. 

In March, 1 845, Briggs, who had established "The Broad- 
way Journal," associated Poe as joint editor. In the begin- 
ning all was harmonious and Briggs again wrote : 

The Rev. Mr. Griswold of Philadelphia told me some damnable 
lies about him, but a personal acquaintance has induced me to think 
highly of him. 

That Poe possessed a most pleasing personality when he 
was normal and responsible for his actions, there is much 
evidence; but there were times, and these periods were 
now recurring more frequently, when his mental obsession 
dominated. 

From this time on Poe's creative work practically 
ceased ; in its place there appeared a spirit of carping criti- 
cism and an intolerance of the work of others. 

To this period belongs "The Longfellow War," which 
reflects Poe's abnormal mental state. While contributing 
to the "Mirror" Poe passed the following criticism on 
Longfellow's "Waif": 

Is it infected with a moral taint — or is this a mere freak of our 
fancy? We shall be pleased if it be so; but there does appear in this 
little volume a very careful avoidance of all American poets who may 
be supposed to interfere with the claims of Mr. Longfellow These men 
Mr. Longfellow can continuously imitate (is that the word?) and never 
yet incidentally commend. 

Poe — a normal Poe — could not have insinuated what 
this passage evidently does imply, viz: that Longfellow 
was making use of Poe's work as a model for the poems 
contained in this volume ; for, to Poe's ego, there was no 
other "American poet." This criticism gave great offense 
to Longfellow's friends ; yet Longfellow did not resent it, 
and thus dismisses the matter : 

The harshness of his criticisms I have never attributed to anything 
but the irritation of a sensitive nature, chafed by some indefinite sense 
of wrong. 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 51 

Poe formerly had declared that he regarded Longfellow 
as the greatest of our poets ; and, while posterity has not 
placed him among the first, certainly he ranks high, and 
deserves the recognition he has received. 

One "Outis" answered Poe's criticism in a style equally 
bitter, and the war was on — one that delighted Poe, for, 
owing to the morbid state which was developing, he en- 
joyed the fight. His excited brain took fire, and, what 
possibly was at first a passing thought became a deep con- 
viction. Poe seriously attempted to prove that Longfellow 
was a plagiarist and an imitator. 

This "war" was continued in the "Broadway Journal." 
Briggs, while not approving, wrote : 

Poe is a monomaniac on the subject of Plagiarism, and I thought it 
best to allow him to ride his hobby to death at the outset and be done 
with it. 

It was not the general charge of plagiarism that makes 
me believe that the line of sane criticism had been passed, 
for Poe always posed as an expert in detecting simi- 
larities. That he could have believed, as he appeared to 
believe, that Longfellow was imitating him — and evi- 
dently the grievance was a personal one — is not consonant 
with Poe's literary acumen. 

Although it is probable that Poe and Longfellow never 
met, there was a literary understanding between them and 
letters passed. I have in my possession a letter dated 
May 19, 1841, from Longfellow to Poe, evidently written 
in answer to one that he had received from Poe, the con- 
tents of which are not known. The letter is slightly de- 
fective, caused by Longfellow's signature having been 
cut out. 

Dear Sir: 

Your favor of the 3rd inst. with the two Nos. of the magazine 
reached me [here a] day or two ago, which will account [for my 
delay and the fact that] a more speedy answer was not returned. 



52 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

You are mistaken in supposing that 'you are not favorably known 
to me.' On the contrary, all that I have read from your pen, has 
inspired me with a high idea of your power, and I think you are 
destined to stand among the first romance-writers of the country, 
if such be your aim. 

Very truly yours, 

Poe's answer to this is among those included in Har- 
rison's "Letters of Poe." The context of this Poe letter 
makes it evident that Poe had written Longfellow re- 
questing contributions to "Graham's". Although this 
paragraph containing Longfellow's declination must have 
been destroyed by this autograph vandal, the remaining 
portion is interesting because it shows mutual apprecia- 
tion. Longfellow's commendation of Poe's stories, ignoring 
his poems at this time equally well known, might have been 
the origin of the "Longfellow War." 

Another equally strange vagary was a judgment on a 
poet and a poem, which is so singularly absurd that it could 
not have emanated from a rational brain. Neither the poem 
nor the poet ever would have been resurrected had it not 
been for Poe's eloquent and sincere eulogium. The poet's 
name was Home, and the poem was called "Orion." Poe 
wrote a criticism containing the following appreciation : 

It is our deliberate opinion that, in all that regards the loftiest and 
holiest attributes of true poetry, Orion has never been excelled. Indeed 
we feel strongly inclined to say that it has never been equalled. 

Comparing it to Milton's description of hell, Poe says 
that Milton is : 

Altogether inferior in graphic effect, in originality, in expression, 
in the true imagination. 'Orion' will be admitted by every man of 
genius to be one of the noblest, if not the very noblest poetical work of 
the age. 

Spurred to investigation by so ardent and so laudatory 
a critique, and possibly abashed by the fact that I never 
even had heard of, much less read, this poem that out- 
Miltoned Milton — supposing that nothing more dull 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 53 

had ever been written — I eagerly searched for some trace 
of either the book or the author, but they seemed to be 
equally dead. Only Captain Brown's "Conchology" fur- 
nished me with a keener chase. Finally the book-hunt was 
successful, and I found the long-sought item : — not only 
found it, but in its original state autographed and in- 
scribed to Douglas Jerrold ; and, as an added indication of 
the author's capacity and literary acumen, there was 
printed, on the title page, the announcement "price 
ONE FARTHING." Evidently Home was no profiteer, yet he 
probably asked all that it was worth. The volume was un- 
cut and apparently unopened ; certainly it remains unread. 
From the few passages which I scanned, I am certain 
that in one sense Poe's comparison was just, in spite of his 
mistaken judgment. It is said that this price of one far- 
thing was placed on it by Home, in derision of the slight 
value in which epic poetry was held. The price, not the 
value, has greatly increased. 

Possibly the particular passage selected by Poe that 
rivaled the God-like fight between the Devils and Angels 
is this: 

Them, quickly joined 
Their head in this destruction, and ere night. 
Huge forms, ferocious, mighty in the dawn, 
When hoar rime glistened on each hairy shape, 
Nought fearing, swift, brimful of raging life, 
Lay stiffening in black pools of jellied gore. 
Nor with the day ceased their tremendous task, 
But all night long Orion led the way 
Through moonless passes to most secret lairs. 
Where in their deep abodes fierce monsters crouched, — 
Dragons and sea-beasts and compounded forms, — 
And in the pitchy blackness madly huddling, 
Midst deafening yells and hisses they were slain. 

This is not by any means the worst. I select at random : 
Never renew thy vision, passionate lover — 
Heart-rifled maiden — nor the hope pursue, 



54 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

If once it vanish from thee; but believe, 

'Tis better thou should'st rue this sweet loss ever 

Than newly grieve, or risk another chill 

On false love's icy river, which betraying 

With mirrors bright to see, and voids beneath, 

Its broken spell should find no faith in thee. 

A normal Poe was too capable a critic to have passed 
such judgment. He had no reason for giving this favorable 
opinion had he not believed that it was deserved. His judg- 
ment must have been perverted. 

The relationship, begun so happily between Poe and 
Briggs lasted only a few months. There were disagreements 
between Briggs and his publishers, probably owing to the 
circumstance that the "Journal" did not pay expenses, 
and in July, 1845, Poe assumed the editorship. 

According to Briggs : 

Poe got on a drunken spree, and conceived the idea that I had not 
treated him well, for which he had no other grounds than my having 
loaned him money and persuaded Brisco to carry on The Journal' 
himself. 

While this may be true, as between Briggs and Poe 
Brisco preferred Poe. After a week's suspension, "The 
Broadway Journal*' reappeared with Poe as sole editor. 
Poe's life-time ambition was realized, and the goal was 
reached for which so long he had striven. Unfortunately 
success came too late. 

Although Poe tried hard for his ideal and attempted to 
fashion 'The Broadway Journal" into the arbiter of mat- 
ters literary, and make it the critical authority of which 
he was at one time capable, his mental deterioration had 
progressed to such an extent that he was no longer able 
either to produce original work or to judge fairly the 
work of others. 'The Journal" under his management, re- 
produced many of his stories and a few of his poems, but 
his reviews apparently had lost much of their critical 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 55 

value ; as in the case of the Longfellow war, which he con- 
tinued as long as he could find anyone to reply to him, 
they showed bias. 

Neither mentally, nor temperamentally, was Poe fitted 
for a Poet Laureate. He could not write on command and, 
with him, a poem was a matter of inspiration. It was not 
in a spirit of derision that he read Al Aaraaf before 
a Boston audience, when requested to write a new poem for 
this occasion. He attempted one and failed. To him com- 
position came slowly and the poems that make his name 
known to us were the result of some inner fire and un- 
discoverable compulsion that precipitated into being an 
immortal melody. As a rule the conception was immacu- 
late ; only occasionally could the inception be traced and 
normal gestation be demonstrated. It was with full 
realization that Poe asserted: "To coin one's brain into 
silver, at the nod of a master, is to my thinking the 
hardest task in the world." During the last four years of 
-his life he produced little that has added to his reputation. 
One poem Tne Bells was slowly elaborated and two, most 
remarkable for their inspirational and melodic cadences, 
Ulalume and Annabel Lee, were published but when they 
were written, or how long they had remained unpublished, 
we do not know. ^ 

It is apparent that Poe's poetic faculty remained, and 
his mastery of words and rhythm lasted beyond his logical 
faculties. In writing to Evert A. Duyckinck in November, 
1845, he said: 

For the first time during two months, I find myself entirely my- 
self — dreadfully sick and depressed but still myself. I seem to have 
wakened from some horrible dream, in which all was confusion and 
suffering. I really believe I have been mad — but indeed I had abun- 
dant reason to be so. 

It was during this time that Poe had the memorable in- 
terview with Lowell, and, in spite of the kindly feeling their 



56 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

long correspondence had engendered, each seems to have 
been disappointed in the other. Lowell later wrote : 

I saw Poe only once ... I suppose there are many descriptions 
of him. He was small : his complexion of what I should call a clammy 
white ; fine, dark eyes, and fine head, very broad at the temples, but 
receding sharply from the brows backwards. His manner was rather 
formal, even pompous, but I have the impression that he was rather 
soggy with drink — not tipsy — but as if he had been holding his head 
under a pump to cool it. 

It is probable that Poe*'s facial appearance had changed, 
as the result of alcoholic poisoning, and that he was not 
^ at that time possessed of the expression of nobility that 
had impressed many who attempted descriptions of him. 

And Poe's own impression of Lowell was not by any 
means flattering : 

He called to see me the other day, but I was very much disap- 
pointed in his appearance as an intellectual man. He was not half the 
noble looking man that I expected to see. 

This interview is also referred to in a letter Mrs. Clemm 
wrote Lowell after Poe's death : 

How much I wish I could see you ! how quickly I could remove 
your wrong impression of my darling Eddie! The day you saw him in 
New York, he was not himself. Do you not remember that I never left 
the room? Oh! if you only knew his bitter sorrow when I told him how 
unlike himself he was while you were here, you would have pitied him ! 
He always felt particularly anxious to possess your approbation. If he 
spoke unkindly of you (as you say he did) rely on it, he did not know 
what he was talking. 

Willis thus pictures Poe : 

He becomes a desk, — his beautiful head showing like a statuary 
embodiment of Discrimination ; his accent drops like a knife through 
water, and his style is so much purer and clearer than the pulpit com- 
monly gets or requires that the effect of what he says, besides other 
things, pampers the ears. 

While Willis mixes his metaphors and his similes are 
crude, what he means to express is a remarkable tribute 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 57 

for one writer to pay another, especially when that other 
is a close acquaintance. 
Another familiar thus describes him : 

The exquisitely chiseled features, the habitual but intellectual 
melancholy, the clear pallor of the complexion, and the calm eye like 
the molten stillness of a slumbering volcano, composed a countenance 
of which this portrait is but the skeleton. 

There must have been some ground for these eulogies. 

In October, 1845, Poe assumed full charge of "The 
Broadway Journal", and it was in November of the 
same year that he wrote the letter to Duyckinck. 

In January, 1846, the following notice announced the 
close of his last effort. It was the end. 

VALEDICTORY 

Unexpected engagements demanding my whole attention, and the 
objects being fulfilled, so far as regards myself personally, for which 
The Broadway Journal' was established, I now, as its editor, bid 
farewell — as cordially to foes as to friends. 

Edgar A. Poe. 

Only those who, in their old age, have experienced 
failure, knowing that their last opportunity as well as 
their capacity for work has passed, can comprehend to the 
full the heartbreak in these stereotyped phrases. 

This was Poe's last attempt to do serious work worthy 
of his genius. For the next four years, till death mercifully 
freed him, his life was one unbroken series of disasters. It 
was at this time that his wife's sickness gave evidence of 
her fast approaching end, and penury pinched him so hard 
that even his poor mother was compelled to ask for assist- 
ance. That there was abject poverty — want beyond human 
endurance — is evident from the reports of those who visited 
Fordham at that time. 

The cottage had an air of gentility and neatness that must have 
been lent to it by the presence of its inmates. So neat, so poor, so un- 



58 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

furnished, and yet so charming a dwelling I never saw. The floor of the 
kitchen was white as wheaten flour. A table, a chair, and a little stove 
that it contained seemed to furnish it completely. 

Another visitor, describing this home, thus pictures 
Mrs. Poe: 

I saw her in her bed-chamber. Everything here was so neat, so 
purely clean, so scant and poverty stricken, that I saw the poor suf- 
ferer with such a heartache as the poor feel for the poor. There was no 
clothing on the bed, which was of straw, but a snow-white counterpane 
and sheets. The weather was cold and the sick lady had the dreadful 
chills that accompany the hectic fever of consumption. She lay on her 
straw bed, wrapped in her husband's great-coat, with a large tortoise 
cat in her bosom. The wonderful cat seemed conscious of her great use- 
fulness. The coat and the cat were the only means of warmth of the 
poor sufferer, except as the husband held her hands, and her mother 
her feet. 

Friends of Poe made a public appeal and money was 
raised to tide over the threatened starvation. Only a 
knowledge of Poe's sensitive nature and high-strung spirit 
could make us know the humiliation he must have suffered 
because of this public appeal ; yet it was to this Griswold 
sneeringly alluded when, quoting a letter Poe wrote Willis 
in which he protested against "the concerns of my family 
being thus pitilessly thrust before the public," he said in 
his memoir : 

This was written for effect. He had not been ill a great while nor 
dangerously at all. 

Fortunately Poe was for many weeks too sick to protest, 
and his friends were allowed to care for him. 

It is certain that there were a few occasions when Poe 
gave striking evidence of his disturbed mental state, that 
was plain to all his intimate associates. His friend Willis 
says: 

He left us [The Mirror'] by his own wish alone, and it was one 
day soon after, that we saw him in the condition to which we refer. He 
came into our office with his usual gait and manner, and, with no 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 59 

symptom of ordinary intoxication, he talked like a man insane. Per- 
fectly self-possessed in all other respects, his brain and tongue were 
evidently beyond his control. We learned afterward that the least 
stimulus — a single glass of wine — would produce this effect on Mr. Poe 
and that rarely as these instances of easy aberration of caution and 
mind occurred, he was liable to them, and while under their influence, 
voluble and personally self-possessed but neither sane nor responsible. 

This change in Poe, the so-called double personality, is / 
variously explained, for it is not necessarily caused by 
alcohol. In some way not understood the subconscious 
self is involved and, by reason of a morbid change, dom- 
inates. Beyond a certain point it becomes a pathological 
change, and one suffering from it cannot be held respon- 
sible. The nervous diathesis is usually present as the basis 
of this mental complex. 

Mrs. Shew, his friend and his nurse, kept a diary from 
which John H. Ingram made the following extract : \ 

I made my diagnosis, and went to the great Dr. Mott with it; I 
told him that at best, when Mr. Poe was well, his pulse beat only ten 
regular beats, after which it suspended, or intermitted (asdoctors say) . 
I decided that in his best health he had lesion of one side of the brain, 
and as he could not bear stimulants or tonics, without producing in- 
sanity, I did not feel much hope that he could be raised up from brain 
fever brought on by extreme suffering of mind and body. 

Mrs. Shew again states that on Poe's failing to return 
home, they found that he had taken a room and slept for 
twelve hours ; and that, on awakening, he had little or no 
memory of. what had .^ taken place during this period. 
Again she deduces the medical opinion: 

This showed that his mind was injured, nearly gone out for the 
want of food and from disappointment. He had not been drinking, and \ 
had been only a few hours from home. Evidently his vitality was low 
and he was nearly insane. While he slept we studied his pulse, and 
found the same symptoms we had noticed before. I called in Dr. 
Francis (the old man was odd but very skillful) who was one of our 
neighbors. His words were, *He has heart disease and will die early in 
life." 



60 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

Mrs. Shew is said to have been "the only daughter of a 
Doctor," and that "at one time she had studied medicine," 
for which reasons her medical opinion has been received 
as worthy of respect. While fully recognizing the value 
of heredity in this particular matter, and that remarkable 
understanding of diseased conditions that the mere en- 
trance to our Medical Colleges gives, nevertheless I ques- 
tion this particular diagnosis of Mrs. Shew — even that of 
Dr. Francis and Dr. Mott ; for little as we now know, still 
less dependence can be placed on the pathological findings 
of those days, when Dr. Rush's classical work, "Medical 
Inquiries and Observations on the Diseases of the Mind," 
remained their text book and their neurological guide. 
Since those days we have unlearned very much. 

However, there can be no question of serious mental 
aberration and that, at times, Poe was not responsible 
for either his actions or his statements. It is certain that at 
least a few of Griswold's charges as to acts committed at 
that time had a real foundation. They were of so serious a 
nature, and were so unlike the normal Poe, that they must 
be regarded as the offspring of a disordered brain. It was 
at this time that the association of the names of many 
women with that of Poe showed the abnormal trend of his 
mind. 

These complications were of such a nature, and so unlike 
Poe while in his ordinary health, that he must be held 
irresponsible. Griswold added blackmail and personal dis- 
honor to his other charges, but neither of these can be 
proved. Griswold stated that Poe had received letters 
from a woman containing sentimental passages, and that 
he had demanded money for their return. It is not neces- 
sary to go into details further than to say that Poe ap- 
parently received such letters and, when this woman unduly 
interfered and publicly criticised the good name of another, 
he bitterly resented it and did refer to letters that he had 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 61 

received which might throw some light on this woman's 
reason for attempting to besmirch another, 

Poe not only denied that he ever demanded money, but 
declared that he had long ago returned all the letters he 
had not destroyed. When this story, among others, was 
published by Thomas Dunn English, Poe brought suit and 
obtained financial damages ; yet, after Poe's death, Gris- 
wold publicly circulated the same stories in the memoir 
which accompanied Poe's collected writings. 

It is probable that Poe, under provocation, did say 
things he later regretted, and that he committed other in- 
discretions which, in a better moment, he thus extenuates : 

The errors and frailties which I deplore, it cannot at least be said 
that I was the coward to deny. Never even have I made the attempt 
at extenuating a weakness which is (or, by the blessing of God, was) 
a calamity, although those who did not know me intimately had little 
reason to regard it other than as a crime. For indeed, had the pride of 
my family permitted, there was much — very much — there was every- 
thing in extenuation. Perhaps even, there was a time at which it might 
not have been wrong to me to hint — what by the testimony of Dr. 
Francis and other medical men I might have demonstrated, had the 
public indeed cared for the demonstration — that irregularities so pro- 
foundly lamented were the effect of a terrible evil rather than the 
cause. And now let me thank God that in redemption from the physi- 
cal ill, I have forever got rid of the moral. 

Among other explanations advanced as possibly ac- 
counting for some of Poe's irresponsible acts, epilepsy has 
been alleged. The possibility of its existence could not 
have been suggested by anyone even remotely familiar 
with the manifestations of this disease. While it may ex- 
hibit itself in protean forms, no type known could have 
accounted for the peculiarities of Poe's sickness. 

The characteristic symptom, and the one symptom that 
differentiates epilepsy from hysteria and all other nervous 
seizures, is complete loss of consciousness during the at- 
tack, occasionally for considerable periods of time. 



62 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

We are ignorant of the causation of epilepsy, as we are of 
many other of the functional neuroses — including insanity 
— but we do know definitely its symptomatology, in spite 
of the many forms it may assume. As a rule, the patient 
falls as if he had received a blow directly upon the brain ; 
and this is what does happen, for the blood rushes in and 
congests the meninges, engorging the brain and producing 
profound unconsciousness. What causes this nervous ex- 
plosion we do not know. It may be compared to the dis- 
charge of electricity from a Leyden jar. This at best is a 
gross comparison, for we know absolutely nothing of the 
actual manifestation of nervous energy ; nor do we know 
how the external afferent irritations, as received by the 
special senses, are changed into efferent and intelligent brain 
conceptions and manifestations, nor how our brain cells 
function in flashing back their responsive conceptions. 
Did we know, there would not be so many theories. We do 
know that there is some subtle cell change, accompanied 
by some unknown process of stimulation of these centers 
of the five special senses which, in the case of epilepsy, 
usually signals the coming storm. 

In addition to the gross manifestations described, the 
seizures, although of the same character, may be so slight 
that they can be detected by one who is a close observer 
only ; yet, that they belong to the same group and have 
the same underlying cause, is established by an abundance 
of incontrovertible evidence. Epilepsy may manifest itself 
in many forms. Occasionally a patient so afflicted will 
suddenly perform some unexpected or objectionable act, 
such as disrobing in a public place ; or, to use the classical 
illustration frequently cited of the patient that rose from 
the dinner table and carefully nailed the beefsteak, which 
had been placed before him, to the wall of the dining-room. 
These persons are unconscious of their acts and have no 
memory of anything that occurred during the seizure. 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 63 

This last is called "larval" epilepsy, and is the form that 
was said to have afflicted Poe. It is impossible to qualify 
him for this or any other manifestation of epilepsy. 

There is, however, a characteristic seizure which often 
complicates chronic alcoholism, and which frequently so 
closely resembles the first form described, technically 
called grand mal, that only the clinical history of the indi- 
vidual case can differentiate it from functional epilepsy. In 
chronic alcoholism this seizure is due to an organic cerebral 
disintegration and is not held to be a true epilepsy. As far 
as I can discover in the morbid life-history of Poe, no such 
attack has been described, nor is there any history that 
would point to any form of epilepsy. It is true that a 
state of amnesia, or blank-memory period, characterizes 
both epilepsy and certain forms of chronic alcoholism ; but 
no intelligent physician could possibly confound the two 
causations. Fairfield, who had read a thesis of Dr. Leblois 
dealing with the petit mal and other larval forms of 
epilepsy, imagined he saw in this description a method of 
accounting for Poe's many lapses. 

The question as to the part opium played in producing 
these temporary derangements frequently has been asked 
and may be answered only in general terms. There is no 
doubt that Poe occasionally indulged in opium. It is equally 
certain that this use never became a "habit," or that it 
had to be continued in frequent and always increasing 
doses, such as an addict requires. It is a part of the his- 
tory of dipsomania that when the unutterable depression, 
which is one of its phases, does supervene, opium will fre- 
quently be selected in preference to alcohol. This is only a 
temporary remedy and alcohol becomes the final solace. 

I cannot recall a patient who was a typical dipsomaniac, 
that became an opium addict, although he might use opium 
between attacks, or as a means of warding off a threatened 
seizure. A cousin who visited the Poes, and who became a 



64 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

temporary inmate of their home, describes this period of 
Poe's morbid life. She is quoted: 

He then frequently refused wine in her presence, and adds that at 
that time, his fits of intoxication were due to the excessive use of 
opium. 

There is neither direct nor presumptive evidence that 
Poe was addicted to opium, though he did occasionally use 
this drug. 

Dr. English, at one time Poe's friend and boon com- 
panion, but later his avowed enemy, testified : 

Had Poe the opium habit when I knew him, I should both as a 
physician and a man of observation, have discovered it during his 
frequent visits to my rooms, my visits to his house, and our meetings 
elsewhere. 

Dr. Carter, who was intimate with Poe, and at times 
treated him during his last Richmond visit, wrote : 

He never used opium in any instance that I am aware of. Had it 
been habitual it would have been detected, as the poet numbered 
among his associates a half dozen physicians. I never heard it hinted 
at, and if he had contracted the habit it would have accompanied him 
to Richmond. 

Poe, in a letter he wrote to "Annie," gives a picture of 
the mental torture from which he suffered, and his method 
of obtaining relief: 

You saw, you felt the agony of grief with which I bade you farewell 
— you remember my expression of gloom — of a dreadful horrible fore- 
boding of 111. Indeed — indeed it seemed to me that Death approached 
me even then, and that I was involved in the shadow that went before 
him. ... I remember nothing distinctly from that moment till I 
found myself in Providence. I went to bed and wept through a long, 
long, hideous night of despair. When the day broke I arose and en- 
deavored to quiet my mind by a rapid walk in the cold keen air, but 
all would not do — the Demon tortured me still. Finally I procured two 
ounces of laudanum, and without returning to my hotel, took the cars 
back to Boston. ... I implored you to come then, mentioning the 
place where I should be found in Boston. Having written this letter I 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 65 

swallowed about half the laudanum, and hurried to the post office, in- 
tending not to take the rest till I saw you — for I did not doubt for one 
moment that Annie would keep her sacred promise. But I had not cal- 
culated on the strength of the laudanum for before I reached the post- 
office my reason was entirely gone and the letter was never put in. Let 
me pass over — my darling sister — the awful horrors which succeeded. 
A friend was at hand who aided me (if it can be called saving) saved 
me, but it is only the last three days that I have been able to 
remember what occurred in that dreary interval. It appears that after 
the laudanum was rejected from the stomach I became calm, to the 
casual observer, sane — so that I was suffered to go back to Provi- 
dence. ... I am so ill — so terribly, hopelessly ill in body and in 
mind, that I feel I cannot live. . . . Until I subdue this fearful 
agitation, which if continued will destroy my life or drive me hope- 
lessly mad. 

Farewell — here and hereafter. 

This letter was written on November 16, 1848, a year 
before Poe's death. It is the best evidence of the men- 
tal torture that overcame Poe during these frequently 
repeated seizures, and it also shows that, when so afflicted, 
he would resort to any drug he believed would give him re- y 
lief. In this particular case it is to be presumed that Poe, 
believing that he could no longer bear the mental pain from 
which he suffered, selected opium with lethal intent ; that 
he was not accustomed to its use and was not familiar 
with its effect is made evident by its action on him. 

Had he been a confirmed user of this drug, such as 
DeQuincey described himself to be when he "sipped a glass 
of laudanum negus warm and without sugar,'' it would not i 
have affected him so seriously: yet any statement made 
either by DeQuincey, or by any other drug addict, must be 
taken with many "grains" of allowance. DeQuincey, for ex- 
ample, in his "Confessions," states that he ordinarily took 
8000 minims of laudanum daily — an amount which he esti- 
mates to contain 320 grains of opium — and prides himself 
on his ability to decrease to 1000. 

A tumbler of ordinary size holds about 8 ounces ; and, as 



66 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

druggists estimate 450 minims to the ounce of laudanum, 
vj nearly 1 8 ounces, or more than two glasses, would have 
constituted his daily consumption. 

According to the present English pharmacopoeia the 
amount of opium that is contained in laudanum is calcu- 
lated on a 10% basis: in an ounce, there are 45 grains, 
or in 8000 minims, 800 grains. It is entirely possible that, 
at the time DeQuincey was in the habit of using this drug, 
the opium content might have been somewhat smaller ; 
but, as far as I can ascertain, this was never so low as 4%. 
The fact not realized by DeQuincey, certainly one that has 
not been mentioned by him or others, was the enormous 
dosage of alcohol daily consumed. Possibly he did not 
know the constituents of laudanum and, for this reason, 
could not have estimated the result. To manufacture 
laudanum it is necessary that the opium be infused in an 
alcoholic mixture, known as proof spirits. This varies in 
strength, from 50% to 65% of grain alcohol. Necessarily, 
with the opium, 1 8 ounces of proof spirits were consumed. 

While neither of these amounts is impossible, it is ex- 
tremely improbable that any man, especially with De- 
Quincey 's feeble physique, could have long endured this 
V enormous dosage of alcohol and opium. 

Many other statements made by DeQuincey as to the 
effect of opium on him must be taken with equal distrust. 
His "visions," instead of having had their origin in the 
use of opium, were the result of an overworked imagination. 
They could not have been a part of the drug-life of such 
a patient. A careful reading of his autobiography shows 
that he had visions long preceding his use of opium. 

Possibly DeQuincey did not intend that all of his state- 
ments should be taken literally. He had many visionary 
dream-children and he might have magnified his state- 
ments as to dosage, as is frequently the case with addicts. 
He was given visions vouchsafed to few other mortals. 



II 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 67 

Poe occasionally used opium for the relief of mental y 
pain. He was not an addict, and he did not use opium to 
induce visions. 

When the opium habit becomes established, its usage is 
necessarily continuous ; and the dosage in all cases is slowly 
increased, though the patient, recognizing the danger, 
makes determined and intelligent attempts to discontinue. 
Even with medical aid, recovery is difficult. Patients usually 
resort to this drug to relieve some morbid condition or 
affliction. DeQuincey to the contrary, I have never known a 
patient to use opium habitually for the purpose of produc- 
ing hallucinatory visions, or clearer and keener mental con- 
cepts, or more lucid thought. It is commonly used for the 
purpose of inducing what, in other and normal individuals, 
is a sense of well-being. It is not possible that any of Poe's 
work, whether prose or poetry, was the product of either 
opium or alcohol ; nor could he have written his master- 
pieces while under the influence of drugs. No man can per- 
form as well under an intoxicant as when the brain is clear. 
This conclusion is the result of elaborate and well-attested 
experiments, conducted on men following different voca- 
tions without varying the well-established law that while 
under alcohol they may do things more boldly and more 
recklessly, they cannot do them so intelligently or accu- 
rately, or even so rapidly as when free from stimulants. 

However, there are certain hereditary alcoholics who 
require stimulation to overcome inherent neurasthenic 
weaknesses either of will power or ability to properly con- . 
cent rate. In order that such patients may appear normal, 
they must overcome these inhibitions by such stimulation \ 
as apparently restores mental tone. In these cases alcohol 
seems to stabilize but it adds nothing to their capacity, j 
except the confidence that they never posessed, or 
that they have lost because of some intercurrent 
neurosis. 



68 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

To say that many brilliant men have indulged to excess 
and in spite of this have accomplished wonderful things, is 
simply to confuse the morbid ills, which frequently accom- 
pany the neurosis of hereditary capacity, with that 
which constitutes their excellence. Kubla Khan: A Vision 
may have come in sleep as Coleridge describes, but this 
does not mean that this Vision was the result of an opium 
drearh. Very curious things occur in the dream state, and 
the result of the brain s unconscious cerebration is one of 
the most interesting of psychological problems. 

Occasionally it happens that one, seduced by the antici- 
pated pleasure he will derive from the use of opium, or 
urged by curiosity to explore and to experience the effect 
of this forbidden drug, or forced into its use because of 
some neurosis, will dare its dangers. At first the experi- 
ence is pleasurable, whatever the ultimate pain and regret. 
Because of this our poets sing the pleasures of opium : 

I am engulfed, and drown deliciously. 

Soft music like a perfume, and sweet light 

Golden with audible odours exquisite, 

Swathe me with cerements for eternity. 

Time is no more. I pause and yet I flee. 

A million ages wrap me round with night. 

I drain a million ages of delight. 

I hold the future in my memory. 

Also I have this garret which I rent. 
This bed of straw, and this that was a chair, 
This worn-out body, like a tattered tent, 
This crust, of which the rats have eaten part, 
This pipe of opium; rage, remorse, despair; 
This soul at pawn and this delirious heart. 

Poe's power of analysis and ability to decipher the most 
dif^cult cryptograms, although casually mentioned as a 
curious mental recreation, have never been explained nor 
has it received the full consideration that the possession of 
such a faculty deserves. 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 69 

There is a class of defectives medically called "Idiot 
Savant," who, although they may show evidence of weak- 
mindedness in certain directions, in others exhibit a mar- 
velous development of brain capacity. Blind Tom, the 
musician, who could at will recall and play any musical 
selection he had heard, in spite of the fact that he was 
mentally so feeble that he could not receive a musical 
education, is an excellent example of this mental disorder. 
Occasionally there are children, Icnown as lightning calcu- 
lators, who can solve the most complicated sums in addi- 
tion, subtraction, root extraction or other arithmetical 
examples, yet who in other directions show mental feeble- 
ness. It is an accompaniment of either precocity or sub- 
normality. An interesting illustration occurred some years 
ago when a boy of twelve was admitted to one of our 
greatest universities as a mental prodigy. It was an- 
nounced that this marked intellectual superiority was the 
result of judicious parental effort, and that any child, men- 
tally normal, could be developed with equal rapidity, pro- 
vided wise and efficient methods were adopted in early 
mental training. Apparently no one recognized this as a 
beginning of intellectual abnormality which was probably 
an early symptom of dementia praecox. 

Only very occasionally is this particular faculty re- 
tained, and, as the brain is developed and age opens up 
new fields for its occupation, the power is gradually lost. 
Macaulay, Pope, and a few other noted writers possessed 
this faculty, and retained it without developing other 
manifestations of psychoneuroses. 

It is possible that this abnormal faculty, which Poe did 
possess to such an unusual degree, was more or less con- 
nected with his marked ability to select, and to so place 
words as to embody an idea or picture an image after the 
method of the untaught artist, who occasionally accom- 
plished what no school can teach. 



70 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

Poe's poems and criticisms could not have been evolved 
except by a reasoning brain working at its highest point 
of efficiency. Had it not been clear, it could no more have 
discerned the images it did reflect than could a distorted 
mirror accurately reproduce the image of one looking into 
it. I refer especially to Poe's tales of Ratiocination and a 
certain few of his poems, among which The Raven must 
be mentioned, although it may not have been written by 
that process of deduction and calculation and in the man- 
ner in which Poe explained that he conceived and built it 
up. And possibly it was composed as he described. On the 
other hand, such a poem as Ulalume might have been for- 
mulated in a brain which was somewhat diseased, but whose 
capacity for rhythm and euphony remained unimpaired. 

It is impossible that a brain disordered by alcohol could 
have been attuned to such harmony. An inspired song 
^y^ may burst forth unpremeditated and fully matured, but 
such inspiration is not the result of alcohol. 

We know the genesis of one of these poems. We have a 
version of The Bells while it was still in embryo. In its 
beginning it was but dimly conceived, and it was painfully 
gestated and reached its final state of perfection only 
by painstaking elaboration. While it is true that Poe had 
the sense of rhythm and the ability so to arrange euphon- 
ious words and phrases as to produce the tintinabulation 
of The Bells this poem did not come forth full grown 
and perfect at birth, as was the case with The Raven. 

Probably many of Poe's other poems required equal 
nurture and painstaking gestation. In this diseased condi- 
tion his brain was not so resilient, or was it so readily re- 
/ sponsive to the demands made upon it ; yet his sense of 
euphony remained with him to the end. 

Poe was now rapidly approaching the "old age" to which 
he had jokingly alluded in his preface to "Tamerlane." 
He was thirty-six; yet because of the degeneration in the 



1 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 71 

brain cells and the congested and thickened meninges, as 
well as by reason of the law of early decay that always 
accompanies precocity, production, such as had charac- 
terized his early manhood, was no longer possible. 

Although The Raven was published early in this period 
of mental decadence, and still later there had appeared 
Ulalume, The Bells, and Annabel Lee, Poe's capacity for 
discriminating and sustained work was passing. To a 
certain extent "Graham's" and noticeably "The Broadway 
Journal," were padded with twice and thrice told tales, not 
because Poe did not wish to furnish fresh material but be- 
cause he could not. 

From this time his work showed definite abnormalities 
due to mental change. I refer especially to his discussion of 
the cosmogony of the universe, which he dedicated to 
Alexander Von Humboldt, and which he called "Eureka" 
in the belief that he had solved the riddle of the universe. 
Let us study the matter of this work as well as the manner. 

Poe prefaces it : 

To the few who love me and whom I love — to those who feel 
rather than to those who think — to the dreamers and those who put 
faith in dreams as in the only realities — I offer this Book of Truths, 
not in its character of Truth-Teller, but for the Beauty that abounds 
in its Truth; constituting it true. To these I present the composition as 
an Art-Product alone : — let us say as a Romance ; or, if I be not urging 
too lofty a claim, as a Poem. What I here propound is true: — therefore 
it cannot die : — or if by any means it be now trodden down so that it 
die, it will 'rise again to the Life Everlasting.' Nevertheless it is as a 
Poem only I wish this work to be judged after I am dead. 

E. A. P. 

It is related of him: 

During the last years of his unhappy life, whenever he yielded to 
the temptation that was drawing him to the fathomless abyss, as with 
the resistless swirl of the maelstrom, he always lost himself in sublime 
rhapsodies of the evolution of the universe, speaking as if from some 
imaginary platform to a vast audience of rapt and attentive listeners. 



71 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

Harrison considers it 

an astounding circumstance that a mind so apparently wrecked as 
Poe's was all through the weary months of 1847 — months hyphened 
together by unalterable gloom from the death of Virginia, in January, 
to the apparition on the December horizon of the fantastic fliame of 
Ulalume — could have recovered vitality or even vivacity enough to 
meditate on the deep themes of Eureka, of the cosmogony of the Uni- 
verse, of the destiny of the human soul and the fate of the circum- 
ambient matter; but so it was. 

Poe's argumentative faculty attained perhaps its highest expres- 
sion in Eureka; the theme, in itself so abstract, so transcendental, 
burns and glows with a concrete radiance that seems to convince the 
reader that it is the true light, and not quagmire phosphorescence; 
the suppleness of the Poet's tongue never abandons him as he climbs 
the empyrean in. his Excelsior flights and forces one stronghold after 
another of retreating Deity, talking volubly of Newton, Kepler, and 
La Place the while, until at last Eureka! bursts from his lips and he 
fancies he has found the Eternal. 

Having worked the book out through the long and hollow hours of 
1847 — he was ready with it as a lecture in the early months of 1848. 
His hope was to rent a hall and secure an audience of three or four 
hundred persons who would pay him sufficiently to start on a lecturing 
tour in the interests of the 'Stylus' — which now again sweeps up to the 
surface like the drowned face of Delacroix's maiden. Instead of three 
or four hundred, sixty persons assembled in the hall of the Society Li- 
brary, New York, and shivered through three hours of a bleak Febru- 
ary night, listening, as one of them reported, *to a rhapsody of the 
most intense brilliancy.' Poe appeared inspired, and his inspiration 
affected the scant audience almost painfully. His eyes seemed to glow 
like those of his own Rauen. . . . Not disheartened at his poor success 
nor at the absurdly caricatured accounts of the lecture in the public 
prints, Poe went bravely to work and wrote out the theory in book 
form, offering it, with flashing eyes and exuberant enthusiasm to Mr. 
Putnam. , . . He suggested an edition of 50,000; Mr. Putnam lis- 
tened attentively, and ventured on an edition of 500. 

The mere fact that Poe left the field of literature to un- 
dertake scientific researches, or that he believed he had 
established a new theory of the universe is not, of itself, 
evidence of an unsound mind ; nor do extravagant and ill 



J 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 73 

understood deductions necessarily indicate a developing 
mental disease. It is something often experienced that, 
among normal men, dissatisfaction arises with their occu- 
pation or profession, even when success has attended their 
efforts, and thatmany literary andscientific menreachforth 
into new and strange domains. Goethe was not satisfied 
with his great poetical reputation, but insisted on being 
regarded as a man of science: he wrote a book — "Farben- 
lehre" — in an effort to disprove Newton's "Theory of Col- 
ors." This book demonstrated that he was not familiar 
with the elementary principles of light, and because of his 
theory he was derided for his scientific pretensions, although 
his researches in comparative anatomy, in conjunction with 
Oken, had demonstrated that the cranium was composed 
of consolidated vertebrae, and thus scientifically estab- 
lished brain evolution from original spinal centers. 

Cruikshank, in his old age, was vociferous in asserting 
his right to be considered the author of "Oliver Twist," 
because he had suggested to Dickens certain illustrations 
for that work : his great reputation as a caricaturist did not 
satisfy him. Even Tennyson made a failure of "Queen 
Mary" and other attempts at dramatic composition, a 
form in which, it is said, he believed that he excelled; 
and Longfellow committed the unpardonable sin of writ- 
ing "Kavanagh." 

George Eliot's, Emerson's, and Lowell's essays in the 
field of poetry are sad commentaries on their ability to 
judge of their limitations. None of these should be harshly 
criticized because he failed to estimate properly his own 
individual capacity. 

Nor can all enthusiasts be classed among the abnormal, 
even if they go to the extent of dwelling unduly on some 
abstruse problem, or attempting to solve some riddle that 
is regarded as unsolvable. Men perfectly sane have at- 
tempted to square the circle, and many perpetual motion 



74 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

machines are now attic ornaments. Men such as those 
that sought a secret that would give them everlasting life 
are now devoting their superabundant energy to newer 
fads, and are devotees of some recent cult. There are too 
many Scientists, such as Lodge, Conan Doyle and others 
of the faddists, for us to be able to draw a distinct 
line between those merely credulous and the mentally 
unsound ; and there are too many pretenders in medical, 
astronomical and the physical sciences for us to say who 
is the Great Discoverer and who is the self-deceived. 
Knowledge is, at best, a chimera : and all who seek must 
base their findings on a theory that future investigators 
are sure to question. Some Einstein may yet upset our 
most definitely established natural laws. 

That we may only approximate knowledge of the Su- 
preme Cause need not make us reject all guesses ; nor, with 
Bacon, put the jeering question in the mouth of the smiling 
Pilate. Philosophers have long sought the key-stone of 
some definite Truth by which to support their contentions ; 
but, thus far, none has been found. 

Although such speculations as engaged the attention of 
Poe need not arouse suspicion as to the soundness of his 
mind, they were the forerunner of other and more serious 
vagaries. Had he, even in these last few years when he 
seemed most normal, been aroused by an inquiry as to cos- 
mogony, again would his eyes have flashed, his congested 
brain would have become turgid with blood, and there 
might have come a morbid mental reaction as pronounced 
as the "single glass" could have produced. Poe's power of 
definitely expressing his thoughts might have been swept 
away by the vehemence of his utterance, appearing con- 
fused only because of the torrent of his ideas. 

For this reason the apparent incoherence would have 
been only an evidence of over-active brain functioning. 
Woodberry, in his "Notes," gives several examples of this 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 75 

condition occurring in the last few months of Poe's life, 
when he recited for bar-room roysterers his own and other 
notable poems. It was not a hectoring drunkard engaged 
in saloon brawls, haranguing a throng of grinning auditors : 
it was an organically brain-diseased patient, whose friends 
did not realize the necessity of permanently secluding him. 
Most emphatically it was not a moral lapse, nor the result 
of vicious living; nor should his life be cited as "full of in- 
struction and warning," nor should he pay "the penalty of 
wrong doing that its anatomy should be displayed for the 
common study and advantage." 

Poe was not a man of scientific training, nor was he a 
classical scholar, in spite of the display of both scientific 
and classical knowledge in much that he wrote. 

When he fathered Brown's "Conchology" it was not for 
scientific reasons, but in the preparation of "Eureka" he 
was deadly in earnest ; and while neither the matter nor the 
effort arouses suspicion, yet the manner and the circum- 
stances under which it was produced are the best evidence 
that it was the result of a disordered brain. It was at this 
time that Harrison thus described his condition : 

He found it impossible to sleep without the presence of some 
friend by his bedside. Mrs. Clemm, his ever devoted friend and com- 
forter, more frequently fulfilled the office of watcher. The poet, after 
retiring, would summon her, and while she stroked his broad brow, he 
would indulge his wild flights of fancy to the Aidenn of his dreams. He 
never spoke nor moved in these moments, unless the hand was with- 
drawn from his forehead ; then he would say, with childish naivete, 
'No, no, not yet!' — while he lay with half-closed eyes. 

Woodberry reports a statement of Mrs. Clemm : 

He never liked to be alone, and I used to sit up with him, often till 
four o'clock in the morning, he at his desk, writing, and I dozing in my 
chair. When he was composing Eureka, we used to walk up and down 
the garden, his arm around me, mine around him, until I was so tired I 
could not walk. He would stop every few minutes and explain his ideas 
to me, and ask if I understood him. 



76 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

It is interesting to read the criticisms made by com- 
mentators on the theories contained in this book. 

Griswold believed : 

To the composition of Eureka he brought his subtlest and highest 
capacities, in their most perfect development. 

Denying that the Arcana of the Universe can be explored by induc- 
tion, but informing his imagination with the various results of 
science, he entered with unhesitating boldness, though with no guide 
but the divinest instinct, — into the sea of speculation, and there 
built up of according laws and their phenomena, as under the influence 
of a scientific inspiration, his theory of Nature. . . . When I read 
Eureka I could not help but think it immeasurably superior as an 
illustration of genius to the 'Vestiges of Creation ;' and as I admired 
the poem so I regretted its pantheism, which is not necessary to its 
main design. 

Mrs. Whitman in her "Defense of Poe'* made the follow- 
ing comment : 

The unrest and faithlessness of the age culminated in him. 
Nothing so solitary, nothing so hopeless, nothing so desolate as his 
spirit in its darker moods has been instanced in the literary history of 
the nineteenth century. 

It has been said that this theory, as expressed in Eureka of the 
universal diffusion of Deity in and through all things, is identical with 
the Brahminical faith as expressed in the Bagvat Gita. But those who 
will patiently follow the vast reaches of his thought in this sublime 
poem of the 'Universe' will find that he arrives at a form of unbelief 
far more appalling than that expressed in the gloomy pantheism of 
India, since it assumes that the central, creative Soul is, alternatively, 
not diffused only, but merged and lost in the universe, and the universe 
in it: 'A new universe swelling into existence or subsiding into noth- 
ingness at every throb of the Heart Divine.' 

The creative Energy, therefore, 'now exists solely in the diffused 
matter and spirit, of the existing universe.' The author assumes, 
moreover, that each individual soul retains in its youth a dim con- 
sciousness of vast dooms and destinies far distant in the bygone time, 
and infinitely awful ; from which inherent consciousness the conven- 
tional 'World-Reason' at last awakens it as from a dream. 'It says 
you live, and the time was when you lived not. You have been created. 
An Intelligence exists greater than your own, and it is only through 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 77 

this Intelligence that you live at all.' These things,' he says, 'we 
struggle to comprehend and cannot: cannot, because being untrue, they 
are of necessity incomprehensible.' 

Woodberry, not altogether relying on his own ability 
to solve Poe's conception of this riddle of the universe, 
called on Professor Irving Stringham of the Astronomical 
Department of the University of California "for the sub- 
stance of the criticism of Poe's astronomical speculations." 
The result of their double labor still leaves much to be 
explained : 

The mind knows intuitively . . . that the creative act of Deity 
must have been the simplest possible ; or, to expand and define this 
statement, it must have consisted in willing into being a primordial 
particle, the germ of all things existing without relation to aught, or, 
in the technical phrase, unconditioned. 

This particle, by virtue of the divine volition, radiated into space 
uniformly in all directions, a shower of atoms, of diverse form, irregu- 
larly arranged among themselves, but all, generally speaking, equally 
distant from their source; this operation was repeated at intervals, 
but with decreased energy in each new instance, so that the atoms 
were impelled less far. 

So this composite explanation continues for several 
pages and a fairly lucid — as demonstrated by this excerpt 
— explanation is made of Poe's Theory of the Universe. 
However, the scrambled expositions of Poe, Woodberry 
and Stringham do not seem to me to bear a marked resem- 
blance to Poe's unscrambled statement. Poe himself might 
have felt highly gratified could he have read this apprecia- 
tion, but I believe that he would have rejected at least 
two-thirds of the statements it contains. 

I do not mean to criticize, or to deny, the ability of 
either critic further than to suggest that where a thing is 
so essentially obscure, and so evidently unformed in the 
creator's own brain, it was not wise to attempt a solution. 
Their double explanation is sufficiently lucid. Just how 



7S POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

nearly it represents Poe's basic idea is the matter which 
I regard as debatable. 
Woodberry concludes his full review : 

Eureka affords one of the most striking instances in literature of a 
naturally strong intellect tempted by overweening pride, to an Icarian 
flight, and betrayed into an ignoble exposure of its own presumption 
and ignorance. 

He further states : 

Nor, were Eureka to be judged as a poem, that is to say as a fic- 
titious cosmogony, would the decision be more favorable ; even then so 
far as it is obscure to the reader it must be pronounced defective ; so 
far as it is understood, involving as it does in its primary conceptions 
incessant contradictions of the necessary laws of thought, it must be 
pronounced meaningless. Poe believed himself to be that extinct being, 
a universal genius of the highest order; and he wrote this essay to 
prove his powers in philosophy and in science. To the correspondent 
to whom he sent the addenda he declared 'As to the lecture, I am very 
quiet about it — but if you have dealt with such topics, you will recog- 
nize the novelty and moment of my views. What I have propounded 
will (in good time) revolutionize the world of Physical and Metaphysi- 
cal science. I say this calmly, but I say it.' 

Lauvriere's solution, contained in a Life of Poe, is thus 
stated : 

In the Beginning, God created a particle without form, without 
individuality, without emptiness, absolutely unique. This particle was 
the germ of all things. It glittered in space in a wave of unequally dis- 
tributed atoms of different shapes. Other waves followed, the atoms 
of which were forced among the original atoms by a slight pressure. 
Still other waves followed that were somewhat weaker, but which, in 
time, more or less completely filled this space with a multitude of 
atoms. Bearing a proportion to the number of atoms at the surface of 
this sphere and starting at the square of the distance between these 
surfaces and the center, the force of diffusion continues to decrease. * 

As soon as this is exhausted an attractive force which is the natural 
reaction, and which is in inverse proportion tothesquareof thisdistance, 
develops and in its turn draws back the mass of atoms to a common 

*Proportionn6 a la fois au nombre des atomes, aux surfaces des spheres, et, 
partant, au carre des distances entre ces surfaces et la centre, la force diffusive n' 
cesse de decrottre. 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 79 

center. To prevent the immediate return of the atoms to their primi- 
tive unity a third force manifests itself. This is a repulsive force, 
agglomerating these atoms into a mass, slowly forming sidereal bodies 
of infinite and heterogeneous shapes. This repulsive force, a form of 
immaterial ether which, lacking a better name, Poe called electricity, 
manifests itself in light, heat, magnetism, even in life and brain power. 
It is the spiritual element of things divine and for this reason it is im- 
possible of human analysis. It is the breath of God animating all 
beings on this earth with a greater or less consciousness of divinity. Our 
universe, where all these phenomena actually take place, is filled with 
these reactions and with consequent condensation, the result of evo- 
lution. While the force of attraction slowly condenses it, that of 
repulsion shapes it into combinations more and more complicated. 
However, as, in time, the play of these combinations will become 
exhausted because the divine laws of creation have been fulfilled, the 
attractive force, the inevitable consequence of primitive diffusion can 
only increase itself in proportion to the force of repulsion, it being a 
temporary invention of God that will have been lost.* From this will 
come the fated result that all created worlds will, one by one, be in the 
central conflagration by which means matter, which is in fact only 
the result of attractive and repulsive forces, will be swallowed up; — 
will be engulfed in the bosom of the initial particle, and in the confu- 
sion of the two forces that constitute it. Thus will end our existing 
universe. Others may come after it, as others have preceded it, and as 
others possibly exist in infinite space. For each creation, in essence, is 
only the ephemeral result of a diffusion and reabsorption into the 
divine being. This was Poe's conception of the universe. 

It is certain that Poe believed he knew what he was 
trying to express and, in his attempt to make this plain to 
the world, he used all the powers of thought-compelling 
English in his vocabulary to convey his meaning to the 
world, still in ignorance of the first cause. 

Poe's theories have been variously interpreted and, 
a matter of surprise to me, serious attempts have been 
made to formulate them. He has excited the admiration, 

*Mais, lorsqu'a la longue se trouvera epuise le jeu de ccs combinaisions, lorsque 
seront accomplies les vues,divines sur la creation, la force d 'attraction, consequence 
inevitable de la diffusion primitive, ne jxjurra que s'accroitre de tout ce que la 
force de repulsion, simple intervention temporaire de Dieu, aura perdu. 



80 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

even if he has not been able to satisfy the comprehension 
of many of his biographers. 

Poe's own elucidation deserves some consideration. In 
discussing the subject as it was given in his preliminary 
lecture he thus epitomized it : 

General Proposition. Because nothing was, therefore all things are. 

1 . An inspection of the universality of gravitation — of the fact that 
each particle tends not to any one common point, but to every other 
particle, suggests perfect totality of absolute unity as the source of the 
phenomenon. 

2. Gravity is but the mode in which is manifested the tendency 
of all things to return into their original unity. 

3. I show that the law of the return — i. e., the law of gravity — is 
but a necessary result of the necessary and sole possible mode of 
equable irradiation of matter through a limited space. 

4. Were the universe of stars (contradistinguished from the uni- 
verse of space) unlimited, no worlds could exist. 

5. I show unity is nothingness. 

6. All matter springing from unity sprang from nothingness, i. e., 
was created. 

7. All will return to unity, i. e., nothingness. 

I would be obliged to you if you would let me know how far these 
ideas are coincident with those of the 'Vestiges,' 

Very Resp'y yr. ob. St., 
Edgar A. Poe. 

Poe's complete statement of his theory is not more 
comprehensible : 

I design to speak of the Physical, Metaphysical and Mathematical — 
of the Material and Spiritual Universe: — of its Existence, its Origin, its 
Creation, its Present Conditions and its Destiny. . . . My general 
proposition, then, is this: — In the Original Unity of the First Thing 
lies the Secondary Cause of ALL Things, with the Germ of their In- 
evitable Annihilation. . . . 

As our starting-point, then, let us adopt the Godhead. Of this God- 
head in itself, he alone is not imbecile — he alone is not impious who 
propounds — nothing. "We know absolutely nothing of the nature or 
essence of God : — in order to comprehend what he is, we should have to 
be God ourselves. . . . By Him, however — now, at least, the Incompre- 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 81 

hensible — by Him — assuming him as Spirit — that is to say, as not 
Matter — a distinction which, for all intelligible purposes, will stand 
well instead of a definition — by Him, then, existing as a Spirit, let us 
content ourselves, to-night, with supposing to have been created, or 
made out of nothing, [not a shower of atoms, created from a particle, 
radiated into space uniformly in all directions, as Woodberry inter- 
prets it] by dint of his Volition — at some point of Space which we will 
take as a center — at some period into which we do not pretend to 
inquire, but at all events immensely remote — by Him, then again, let 
us suppose to have been created — whatl This is a vitally momentous 
epoch in our considerations. What is it that we are justified — that 
alone we are justified in supposing to have been, primarily and solely, 
createdl We have attained a point where only Intuition can aid us: — 
but now let me recur to the idea which I have already suggested as 
that alone which we can properly entertain of Intuition. It is but the 
conviction arising from those inductions or deductions of which the pro- 
cesses are so shadowy as to escape our consciousness, elude our reason, or 
defy our capacity of expression. 

With this understanding, I now assert — that an intuition alto- 
gether irresistible, although inexpressible, forces me to the conclusion 
that what God originally created — that that Matter which, by dint of 
his Volition, he first made from his Spirit, or from Nihility, could have 
been nothing but Matter in its utmost conceivable state of — what ? — 
of Simplicity? This will be found the sole absolute assumption of my 
Discourse. 

There are more than one hundred pages of this — and 
such. I have read it attentively and have tried to under- 
stand it, but it is beyond my comprehension. 

In the preparation of "Eureka," and in the earnestness 
with which Poe advanced the most abstruse and incompre- 
hensible theories as if they were axioms and in themselves 
bore irrefutable evidence of truth ; in his bel ief that his repu- 
tation would be founded, not on his tales nor on his poetry 
which, to the last, he affected to regard as trifles, but on the 
demonstrated facts contained in this epoch-making book, 
lie the proofs of his morbid state. Apparently he believed 
that this discovery would be the foundation on which the 
world would erect his cenotaph, that the subject "was 



82 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

of momentous interest," and that the truths which he 
disclosed "were of more consequence than the theory of 
gravitation." Later he wrote a letter in answer to a criti- 
cism of Eureka, in which he stated : 

The ground covered by La Place compares with that covered by 
my own theory, as a bubble with the ocean on which it floats. 

Poe believed that he had solved the riddle of the uni- 
verse. He criticized Kepler, La Place and Newton ; at the 
same time his statements showed that he possessed only 
a smattering of their theories. 

None of his biographers saw in "Eureka" the pitiful exhi- 
bition of a decaying intellect no longer under the domina- 
tion of a strong and directing intelligence. 

And travelers now within that valley. 
Through the red-littened windows, see 
Vast forms that move fantastically 
To a discordant melody. 

And we find him a paranoid vociferously voicing unintel- 
ligible hypotheses based on misconception and ignorance 
of natural laws. 

Poe's abnormality consisted not in theorizing and at- 
tempting to explain things unexplainable, for this is a 
matter of daily occurrence even among the normal, but in 
his inability to understand the basic absurdities and false 
reasoning on which his beliefs were founded. An insane 
man may be the most logical of all logicians, provided you 
grant his premises. The untenableness of these, out of 
which he cannot be reasoned, constitutes his insanity. 

It was during this time that Poe, in a letter to Eveleth, 
described himself : 

I became insane, with long periods of horrible sanity. During these 
vi^ts of absolute unconsciousness I drank. God only knows how much or 
riow long. As a matter of course my enemies referred the insanity to 
the drink rather than the drink to the insanity. 



I 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 83 

Another manifestation of Poe's abnormal mental state 
during the last few years of his life was the platonic love he 
exhibited for the women with whom he associated. Though 
it is certain that Poe did love his wife, it was not after the 
manner of the cave man. She was an invalid, slowly dy- 
ing of consumption and for many years Poe attended her, 
nursed her, and was not only a devoted but a faithful hus- 
band. Mrs. Weiss has strongly dwelt on the nature of the re- 
lation that existed between Poe and his wife. She insists that 
the marriage was one of convenience, not love, and that it 
was to Mrs. Clemm rather than to the daughter that Poe 
turned for intellectual sympathy. Apparently neither 
could greatly have aided him by literary companionship. 
Mrs. Phelps, in an article quoted by Woodberry, amplifies 
Mrs. Weiss' suggestion: 

Mrs. Clemm, his aunt, was my mother's dear friend. I know some- 
thing about that [this marriage], having heard my mother and Mrs. 
Clemm discuss it. He did not love his cousin, except as a dear cousin, 
when he married her, but she was very fondly attached to him and was 
frail and consumptive. While she lived he devoted himself to her with 
all the ardor of a lover. 

In all the years of their married life and until a short 
time preceding her death, no breath of scandal ever 
touched Poe's name, in spite of the known uncanny 
attraction that he exercised over women, which later 
resulted in so many complications. Had there been, even 
secretly, a history of this kind there could have been no 
such devotion and tender solicitude for him as was shown 
by his wife's mother, a bond that death itself could not 
sever. 

Yet, even before his wife died, at least one affair oc- 
curred which we find described as follows : 

Early in 1845 he had formed such an attachment with Mrs. 
Frances Sargent Osgood, a poetess of thirty and the wife of an Ameri- 
can artist. . . . Poe had noticed her verses with great favor, and in 
his New York lecture, in February, especially eulogized her in warm 



84 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

terms. Shortly after this latter incident Willis one day handed her The 
Raven, with the author's request for her judgment on it, and for an 
introduction to herself. 

Mrs. Osgood's own impression of Poe is given as follows : 

I shall never forget the morning I was summoned to the drawing 
room to receive him. With his proud and beautiful head erect, his dark 
eyes flashing with the electric light of feeling and of thought, a peculiar, 
an inimitable blending of sweetness and hauteur in his manner and ex- 
pression, he greeted me, calmly, gravely, almost coldly, yet with so 
marked an earnestness that I could not help being impressed by it. 

Again she says : 

I never thought of him till he sent me his Raven, and asked Willis 
to introduce him to me, and immediately after I went to Albany, and 
afterwards to Boston and Providence to avoid him, and he followed 
me to each of those places and wrote to me, imploring me to love him, 
many a letter which I did not reply to till his wife added her entreaties 
to his and said that I might save him from infamy, and her from death, 
by showing an affectionate interest in him. 

These and other statements were made by Mrs. Osgood 
in an account of Poe written after his death. She sums 
up her review as follows : 

But it was in his conversations and his letters, far more than in 
his published poetry and prose writings, that the genius of Poe was 
most gloriously revealed. His letters were divinely beautiful, and 
for hours I have listened to him, entranced by strains of such pure 
and almost celestial eloquence as I have never read or heard else- 
where. Alas! in the thrilling words of Stoddard, 

' He might have soared in the morning light. 

But he built his nest with the birds of night ! 
• But he lies in dust, and the stone is rolled 

Over the sepulchre dim and cold ; 

He has cancelled all he has done or said, 

And gone to the dear and holy dead. 

Let us forget the path he trod, 

And leave him now, to his Maker, God.' 

A delegation of women, headed by Margaret Fuller, at- 
tempted to break this most cherished friendship and made 
a formal protest. A letter was found by a woman who 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 85 

was visiting the Poe household and, in a jealous rage, 
she circulated stories that seriously reflected on Mrs. Os- 
good. This woman also had written Poe compromis- 
ing letters and, when he knew of her activities, he threat- 
ened, in revenge, to make these letters public. It was on 
this woman's assertions that English and Griswold based 
their charge of blackmail, for which Poe brought and 
won a suit for defamation of character. Undoubtedly 
Poe's abnormal condition, even at that time, was known 
and understood by his immediate family — otherwise it is 
not possible for such association to have been carried on 
with the knowledge and consent of his wife and, neces- 
sarily, of Mrs. Clemm. 

Soon after Mrs. Poe's death, and while Poe was conva- 
lescing from a long and serious illness that had mentally 
incapacitated him, there was another platonic adventure. 
This time it was with Mrs. Shew, a family friend older 
than himself, who was nursing him and had been most 
considerate in looking after the financial needs of the fam- 
ily. His irresponsible condition was realized and, there- 
fore, no particular attention was paid to the matter 
further than that it necessitated a severance of personal 
intercourse : 

Mrs. Shew finding that her protege was too irresponsible and ro- 
mantic to be allowed freedom as he had been accustomed to, broke off 
the acquaintance. The consequence which, although he had foreseen 
it, must in his state of health have been the sudden and complete cessa- 
tion of intercourse between the two families. 

It is certain that both Mrs. Clemm and Mrs. Shew re- 
garded this merely as a manifestation of Poe's mental 
state ; the mother-love was not abated and Mrs. Shew con- 
tinued her friendly ministrations — from a distance. 

Poe wrote her a long and rambling letter, maudlin and 
incoherent, and not such as a normal Poe would have 
written : 



86 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

Are you to vanish like all that I love, or desire, from my darkened 
and 'lost soul' ? I have read over your letter again and again, and can- 
not make it possible with any degree of certainty, that you wrote it in 
your right mind. . . . 

Your ingenuous and sympathetic nature will be constantly 
wounded by its contact with the hollow, heartless world ; and for me, 
alas! unless some true and tender, and pure womanly love saves me, I 
shall hardly last a year longer alive. . . . Why turn your soul from its 
true work for the desolate to the thankless and miserly world ? . . . I 
felt my heart stop, and I was sure I was then to die before your eyes. 
Louise, it is well — it is fortunate — you looked up with a tear in your 
dear eyes, and raised the window, and talked of the guava jelly you 
had brought for my sore throat. 

Almost as absurd was the passion Poe developed for 
Mrs. Whitman, the poetess, a widow some six years older 
than himself. This passion was a more serious matter, 
for she responded to the call. Griswold related, with great 
detail, many things that bore on this courtship; but, as 
usual, the facts were distorted and his statements were 
absolutely denied by Mrs. Whitman. It is impossible to 
doubt the truth of either Mrs. Whitman's statements or 
her knowledge of the facts which Griswold alleged occurred 
in her home ; and, inasmuch as these allegations were un- 
true, nothing could more seriously reflect on Griswold's 
honor or better show the animus of his memoir. 

That Poe was at times abnormal Mrs. Whitman does not 
deny, and it was her realization of his condition that pre- 
vented their marriage. His actions were simply the result of 
an unbalanced mind, craving love and sympathy, yet 
unable to control and govern itself; drifting into danger- 
ous waters without pilot or rudder. 

Poe, during his last visits to Richmond that preceeded 
his death, again proposed marriage; this time to a child- 
hood friend with whom it is said that, as a boy, he had 
been in love. With still another he was more sinned 
against than sinning. 

All commentators on the writings of Poe have called 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 87 

special attention to the small part love plays in any of his 
stories, and to the fact that nowhere, and on no occasion 
does he mention woman without due reverence. 

I believe that there was only one woman besides his wife 
to whom Poe was attracted or on whom he leaned. It was 
of her he thought in the dark days when his desolate and 
hungry heart demanded "surcease of sorrow." This was 
neither Mrs. Shew, nor was it Mrs. Osgood; it was not 
Mrs. Whitman nor was it Mrs. Shelton. It was Annie, 
"my beloved sister," as he was pleased to call her, and I 
believe that his other infatuations, as well as his peculiar 
conduct with Mrs. Whitman, were merely the result of 
his disordered fancy. 

If Poe ever loved any woman, as contradistinguished 
from women, it was "Annie." She appealed to him in the 
only way a woman can properly appeal to a man. Love, 
with a foundation of respect, can never be destroyed. 

It was to "Annie" Poe's heart turned in his darkest days 
and, when the melancholy night forced on him the urge 
of death as the only release from his overpowering depres- 
sion, it was of "Annie" he thought, and to her in his 
agony he wrote the farewell letter. 

He described her in Landors Cottage which, in one of his 
letters, he said contained "something about Annie" : 

Instantly a figure advanced to the threshold — that of a young wo- 
man, slender, or rather slight, and somewhat above the medium 
height. As she approached, with a certain modest decision of step al- 
together indescribable, I said to myself, 'Surely here I have found the 
perfection of natural in contradistinction from artificial grace.* The 
second impression which she made on me, but by far the more vivid of 
the two, was that of enthusiasm. So intense an expression of romance, 
perhaps I should call it, or of unworldliness, as that which gleamed 
from her deep-set eyes, had never so sunk into my heart of hearts be- 
fore. I know not how it is, but this peculiar expression of the eye, 
wreathing itself occasionally into the lips, is the most powerful, if not 
absolutely the sole spell, which rivets my interest in woman. 'Ro- 



88 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

mance,' provided my readers fully comprehend what I would here 
imply by the word — 'romance' and 'womanliness' seem to me conver- 
tible terms : and, after all, what man truly loves in woman, is, simply, 
her womanhood. The eyes of Annie (I heard someone from the interior 
call her 'Annie, darling!') were 'spiritual gray' ; her hair, a light chest- 
nut: this is all I had time to observe of her. 

It was "For Annie" that one of his most remarkable — 
Stedman names it the finest, and I know no better Poe 
authority — ^poems was written and to her he consecrates 
his eternal love : 

And so it lies happily. 

Bathing in many 
A dream of the truth 

And the beauty of Annie — 
Drowned in a bath 

Of the tresses of Annie. 

She tenderly kissed me. 

She fondly caressed. 
And then I fell gently 

To sleep on her breast. 
Deeply to sleep 

From the heaven of her breast. 

And I rest so contentedly, 

Now in my bed 
(With her love at my breast) 

That you fancy me dead — 
That you shudder to look at me, 

Thinking me dead : — 

But my heart it is brighter 

Than all of the many 
Stars in the sky, 

For it sparkles with Annie 
It glows with the light 

Of the love of my Annie — 
With the thought of the light 

Of the eyes of my Annie. 

I do not believe that Poe, either at that time or later, was 
insane in the usually accepted sense. It is true that by 
heredity he was abnormal. It is certain that he did not, in 
the ordinary relations of life, always view things as the 



i 
^ 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 89 

normal individual does ; but just who is normal is a matter 
difficult to decide. I have met and studied many men. I 
have read the biographies and autobiographies of many 
and know of some others by tradition. I have found no 
man who ever freely confessed to evil doing, except pos- 
sibly poor Pepys ; or who would analyze himself, his daily 
acts or the motives which underlie those acts, and tabu- 
late them as they should be tabulated in the moral code. 
Even to themselves they misstate and hide, extenuate or 
actually do not realize, as was the case with Rousseau, the 
abnormalities which deform their inner lives. 

rvwdi a' axrcov is a Utopian concept impossible of literal 
realization. 

No man can know himself, nor can he fairly judge his 
own actions. Compulsions seem, at times, to be excellent 
reasons : like the convex mirror the mind can not reflect the 
image in its true proportions. Occasionally, Narcissus-like, 
it becomes enamored of the picture reflected in its depths. 

I know of but one man, and of him by legend only, who 
led an unblemished and absolutely moral life, pure in 
thought and with no remembrance of any evil act, and 
therefore without a realizing conscience. 

There is one other man whom, for some sixty years, I 
have known intimately, and whom for that reason, perhaps, 
I judge leniently, who is under the conviction that his 
every action is dominated by the highest principles only, 
and that the golden rule is his guide — provided a few 
occasional deviations are allowed proper explanation. 
Nevertheless, even he finds that there are unplumbed 
depths in the recesses of his secret soul that remain un- 
charted, and unexpected mental reservations at times arise 
that deflect the pure ray of righteousness so that it 
does not always make luminous the hidden heart-spring of 
action ; and that possibly certain inherited prejudices cling 
to and distort a judgment otherwise absolutely free, un- 



90 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

warped, and untrammeled. I also know very many men, 
some in San Quentin and others who should be there, 
all convinced of the honesty of their motives and the 
righteousness of their lives ; only some circumstance over 
which they had no control, or a carping world and an over- 
severe moral code, prevented them from being properly 
understood and caused them to be misjudged. The fault 
is with the world and not with themselves. Nature has 
inoculated us with a moral serum which prevents us from 
being poisoned by our own virus. The world is full of Holy 
Willies : if we could see ourselves as other people sometimes 
see us, it would be an unlivable world. Years of study and 
observation have made me lenient in judging the faults 
,of those I know. Heredity is as responsible for our good 
Iqualities and our successes as it is for the evil that is in 
Jus, and our failures. 

The world is a most uncharitable judge in awarding pun- 
ishments and rewards ; it builds jails, poorhouses and asy- 
lums for those who fail because nature has handicapped 
them in their life-race, while it praises and honors those 
who succeed because they are bountifully endowed. We 
know, further, that great genius such as Poe inherited is 
always accompanied and can be seriously modified by a 
neurosis that may end in moral or mental degeneration. 

In recent years many books have been written on the 
relation existing between genius and insanity, and "The 
Insanity of Genius" has become a familiar theme because 
so many "psychologists" and pseudo-scientists have en- 
deavored to point out a close relationship. In the popu- 
lar estimation, they seem to have proved that genius and 
insanity as mental states are almost identical. 

Alienists resent this loose classification and, while they 
recognize a pathological basis for both insanity and genius, 
which bear some relation to each other because they both 
belong to the same great family group, they also recog- 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 91 

nize that, in the practical application of this theoretical 
association there is, separating these varying abnormal- 
ities a chasm as deep as the Grand Canyon and as 
broad as the Painted Desert. We differentiate them as dis- 
tinctly as we do the cerulean water of Tahoe or the Dolo- 
mite lakes from the muddy streams that mark the workings 
of our placer mines. Neither is crystal clear. 

Insanity chooses for its victims not the highly intelli- 
gent nor the genius, but rather the subnormal and "the 
unwashed." Overstudy is the most frequently alleged yet 
the most infrequent cause of insanity. I have examined, 
studied and ' 'psychologized" many thousands of insane per- 
sons and I have access to the records of a hundred thous- 
and, but nowhere have I found even a normal proportion 
between the educated and the uneducated. Personally I 
know a few men of genius whom I denominate cranks, but 
I surely do not regard them as insane. Only rarely do they 
pass the line of demarcation and develop such delusions as 
constitute insanity. I have studied the life histories of the 
many great writers and artists who have been recklessly 
included in this classification. Only occasionally can the 
verdict of insanity be justly pronounced : there are found 
many eccentricities, abnormalities, compulsions and obses- 
sions which, to the psychologist, are exceedingly interesting 
as exhibiting mental greatness, as well as mental weakness. 
Often do we find the two combined so wonderfully as to 
excite our comment — even to the extent of insisting that 
they are unsound ; but this charge of unsoundness by no 
means can be considered tantamount to insanity. 

Genius rarely runs amuck. 

The assertion has been made that alienists regard all the 
world as insane. This is true in the sense that there is no in- 
dividual without peculiarities. This does not mean that 
the whole world is insane, but it does mean that no human 
being lives who, when weighed, will not be found wanting 



92 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

in some normal quality or attribute, and who will not 
show a mental peculiarity in some special thing or way. 
Emeralds that are without flaw are regarded by lapidaries 
with suspicion, for none are found in nature : they can ap- 
pear perfect only when synthetically manufactured. It 
must be understood that mental peculiarities and moral 
idiosyncrasies do not constitute insanity : only because we 
regard these deviations from the normal as hereditary and 
often impossible to overcome, are they classed in the 
group of the Unsound. In other words we are willing to 
regard these peculiarities as abnormalities with which 
nature has afflicted us — not as crimes for which their pos- 
sessor should be held responsible. 

In the case of Poe, not only were the degenerative 
changes that time brings added to hereditary peculiar- 
ities, but alcohol had hastened this degeneration until a 
time came when, even without its use, abnormal mental 
states were of frequent occurrence. Poe realized the fate 
that awaited him, and saw the "dragon at the bottom of 
the well." Mrs. Whitman repeats a confession of his which 
gives us the key : 

I have absolutely no pleasure in the stimulants in which I some- 
times so madly indulge. It has not been in the pursuit of pleasure that 
I have periled life and reputation and reason. It has been a desperate 
attempt to escape from torturing memories. 

If there were "memories," they were of pre-natal inheri- 
tance. Poe was not an alienist who could make a differen- 
tial diagnosis between melancholy and melancholia. He 
suffered, he knew not why. That he could not overcome 
his morbid inheritance is not a matter for blame. He made 
repeated and heroic struggles against the evil that ob- 
sessed him. He manfully resisted the alcoholic craving and 
it left him for long periods of time, asTs the law of this 
disease ; when it did overwhelm him, there was no denying 
the demand it made. 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 93 

It must be remembered that in the life history of those 
who suffer from dipsomania, in addition to the craving for 
alcohol there are periods of both elation and depression. 
Often visionary schemes are undertaken without cor- 
responding capacity to understand their real difficulties 
or impracticabilities. This is probably the explanation 
of Poe's determination to found a journal for the utterance 
of his individual opinions. He had failed in every journal- 
istic attempt that required concentrated and long-con- 
tinued effort. He had found by many bitter experiences 
that he could not continue for any long period of time with- 
out an intercurrent attack of his hereditary malady which 
would incapacitate him for weeks or months ; yet, to the 
very last, this idea of founding a magazine "for freer ex- 
pression" haunted him. And on what magazine did he 
work that he did not express his individual opinions ? After 
editing the leading journals of Philadelphia and New York, 
it was tempting the risibilities to undertake a "Literary 
Arbiter" at Oquawka, in the then unsettled State of 
Illinois. 

Although Poe's reputation had so greatly grown that all 
magazines and periodicals were opened to him at remuner- 
ative prices, he delayed publishing his magnum opus, "a 
book on American literature generally" to be named "The 
Authors of America," and was contented with a few re- 
views and descriptive stories. 

He wrote : 

'I am 30 busy now, and feel so full of energy. Engagements to write 
are pouring in upK3n me every day. I had two proposals last week from 
Boston. I sent yesterday a contribution to the 'American Review' 
about Critics and Criticism. Not long ago I sent one to the 'Metro- 
politan' called Landor's Cottage: it has something about Annie in it, 
and will appear, I suppose, in the March number. To the 'So. Lit. 
Messenger' I have sent fifty pages of Marginalia, five pages to 
appear each month of tKe current year. I have also made permanent 
engagements with every magazine in America (except Peterson's 



94 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

National') including a Cincinnati magazine, called the 'Gentle- 
man's'. 

While these statements may in a way be regarded as 
"expansive," and are characteristic of those alternating 
states of exaltation and depression from which Poe suf- 
fered, there was truth in them. 

Poe did not realize that his opportunity had come too 
late, and that he no longer had the capacity to deliver. 

Landors Cottage and its near relation, The Domain of 
Arnheim, are the best works of this period. Poe, mentally 
diseased, was more capable of such descriptive work than 
any of his normal contemporaries. 

Poe's apparent return to health and his prospect of 
independence were not of long duration. Early in 1849 
he relapsed. 

Mrs. Clemm wrote : 

I thought he would die several times. God knows I wish we were 
both dead and in our graves. It would I am sure be far better. 

Poe wrote to Mrs. Whitman : 

My sadness is unaccountable, and this makes me the more sad. I 
am full of forebodings. Nothing cheers or comforts me. My life seems 
wasted — the future looks a dreary blank. 

This letter contains a possible key to the "solution" of 
Poe's personal equation. It is as typical of his abnormal 
mental state as the one previously quoted. 

Poe again had visions of a new magazine, and this time 
it was with a man from Oquawka. Actual business ar- 
rangements were entered into and money was advanced 
for its publication. In an effort to raise funds for his share 
in this enterprise, Poe undertook a lecture tour ; but his 
departure from Fordham was delayed by a serious attack 
of depression which temporarily unfitted him for all 
attempts of a literary character. Either he had a presenti- 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 95 

ment, or his condition was such that he believed death 
was near. 

Poe produced nothing after the year 1845, when he was / 
thirty-four years of age, that materially added to his lit-/ 
erary reputation; yet one contributor to his Baltimore/ 
Memorial, naively lamenting his death, said : 

But the tragedy of Poe's death is too deep for words of mine. He 
was only thirty-nine years old. His best work ought to have been be- 
fore him. Who can compute the loss to our literature by his untimely 
death? 

We know that, as the cells that line the leaves, and that 
boil down and prepare for absorption the raw juices ex- 
tracted from the ground by the roots, slowly fill with cal- 
careous incrustations, so do the arteries of the human 
brain harden, and the cells cease actively to function or 
are absorbed. We call this process arterio-sclerosis and 
its result is old age which, in some, is delayed ; to others it 
comes comparatively early in life. For this reason it is dif- 
ficult to judge a man's age by the number of years he has 
lived. From this comes the axiomatic deduction, "a man 
is only as old as his arteries." This so-called "hardening of 
the arteries" begins, in all of us, soon after reaching middle 
life : it becomes a disease only when unduly hastened. , 

Poe abandoned his home at Fordham and spent his last 1 
night in New York at the home of Mrs. Lewis. She thus ' 
describes his condition : 

He seemed very sad and retired early. On leaving next morning, 
he took my hands in his and, looking into my face said, 'Dear Stella, 
my much beloved friend, you truly understand and appreciate me. I 
have a presentiment that I never shall see you again. I must leave 
today for Richmond. If I never return write my life. You can and will 
do me justice.' 

From New York Poe took a boat for Philadelphia. For 
the last time he saw Mrs. Clemm and she thus records his 
farewell promise : 



% POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

God bless you, my own darling mother. Do not fear for your Eddy. 
See how good I will be while I am away from you, and will come back 
to love and comfort you. 

Two days later Poe called at John Sartain's office in Phil- 
adelphia, suffering from a pronounced mental disturbance. 
He had delusions of persecution and believed that he was 
being followed by enemies who were attempting his 
destruction. Woodberry, quoting Sartain, thus describes 
his condition : 

Poe went to Philadelphia, and, apparently after a day or two, 
entered the office of John Sartain, proprietor of 'Sartain's Magazine,' 
his friend for the past nine years, and exclaimed excitedly, *I have 
come to you for refuge.' He was delirious and suffering from what 
seems to have been an habitual delusion in such attacks, a fear of a 
conspiracy against him. Sartain, who long remembered the visions 
about which Poe raved and the persistence with which he besought 
him for laudanum, reassured him, and cared for him some days, accom- 
panied him when he went out, and brought him back; once Poe 
escaped and seems to have passed that night in an open field, but Sar- 
tain told the story with variations at different times ; toward the end 
two other old friends assisted in caring for him. 

John Sartain, the artist, in his "Reminiscences of a Very 
Old Man," published in 1900, recalled certain facts of 
his association with Poe. Apparently he was one of the few 
friends who actively assisted Poe during his last sickness, 
and he was familiar with the morbid nervous state that 
preceded Poe's death. 

Sartain, describing this interview with Poe, writes : 
'Mr. Sartain, I have come to you for refuge and protection; will 
you let me stay with you? It is necessary for my safety that I lie con- 
cealed for a time.' He said it would be difficult for me to believe what 
he had to tell, or that such things were possible in this nineteenth 
century. . , . He told me that he had been on his way to New York, 
but he had heard some men who sat a few seats back of him plotting 
how they should kill him and then throw him off from the platform of 
the car. He said they spoke so low that it would have been impossible 
for him to hear and understand the meaning of their words, had it not 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 97 

been that his sense of hearing was so wonderfully acute. . . . From 
his fear of assassination his mind gradually veered around to an idea 
of self-destruction, and his words clearly indicated this tendency. . . . 
After a long silence he said suddenly, 'If this mustache of mine was 
removed I should not be so easily recognized; will you lend me a 
razor, that I may shave it off?' 

He also related to Sartain his Moyamensing hallucina- 
tions, and he suffered from other delusions characteristic 
of the alcoholic delirium that unquestionably was the basis 
of his mental state. 

Sartain says : 

He said that he had been thrown in Moyamensing Prison for 
forging a check and while there a white female figure had appeared on 
the battlements and had addressed him in whispers. * If I had not heard 
what she said,' he declared, *it would have been the end of me.' 

*An attendant asked me if I would like to take a stroll about the 
place. I might see something interesting and I agreed. In the course of 
our rounds on the ramparts we saw a cauldron of burning spirits. He 
asked me if I would not like to take a drink. I declined, but, had I 
said yes, I should have been lifted over the brim and dipped into the 
hot liquid, up to the lips like Tantalus. ... So at last as a means to 
torture me and to wring my heart, they brought out my mother, 
Mrs. Clemm, to blast my sight by seeing them first saw off her feet 
to the ankles, then her legs to the knees, her thighs at the hips.' 

On the second morning he appeared to have become so much like 
his old self that I trusted him to go out alone. After an hour or two he 
returned, and then told me that he had come to the conclusion that 
what I said was true, and that the whole thing was a delusion. He said 
his mind began to clear as he laid on the grass. While he lay thus the 
words he had heard kept running in his thoughts, but he tried in vain 
to connect them with the speaker, and so the light gradually broke in 
on his dazed mind and he saw that he had come out of a dream. 

Woodberry, without justification, has aspersed Sartain's 
memory of these events. The nature of Poe's delusions 
and hallucinations was such as to give evidence of their 
truth. The suddenness of so serious an attack following the 
brief period of intoxication makes it most probable that 
the congested state of Poe's brain was primarily respon- 



98 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

sible, although the nature of his mental symptoms is 
characteristic of delirium tremens. Insanity is not so 
precipitate either in its onset or in its recovery, such con- 
dition continuing, as a rule, for many weeks. 

Sartain also bears testimony as to the small amount of 
intoxicant required to produce mental disturbance. He 
states that Poe was most easily overcome by even 
minute doses of alcohol and he relates conversations with 
Miss Clarke, who was on terms of intimacy with the Poe 
family, and whose father, T. C. Clarke, was his "Stylus" 
associate, to the effect that "Miss Clarke quotes her 
father as saying that 'it took less liquor to make a maniac 
of Poe than of any one he had ever known'." 

The length of time that had elapsed after Poe left Ford- 
ham before he was found in this condition of delirium, is 
uncertain ; yet it is necessary to know this in order that his 
disease may be properly diagnosed. 

If Poe was normal when he left New York, and his mother, 
who watched over him so carefully, believed that he was 
in condition to start on a lecturing tour, this delirium could 
not have been the result of only two day's use of alcohol. 
There must have been an organic brain change for alco- 
hol to have acted so quickly. Even without the use of 
any stimulant, this condition occasionally develops. We 
could possibly dignify it by the name of Melancholia, 
the preceding state having been a Melancholy. Whatever 
name we use, the indisputable fact remains that there 
was an organic congestion of the meninges of the brain. 
This condition could not have been altogether due to alco- 
hol. It often does happen that after a prolonged debauch 
delirium tremens results, characterized by all the symp- 
toms Poe's condition presented, but this comes only after 
an extended period of acute alcoholism, save in those cases 
where there has developed an organic cerebral degener- 
ation. The opinion that it was due to an organc lesion 



\ 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 99 

is strengthened by a communication made by Poe's cousin, 
Neilson Poe, who was present at Poe's death. He wrote : 

The history of the last few days of his life is known to no one so 
well as to myself. ... I trust that I can demonstrate that he passed, 
by a single indulgence, from a condition of perfect sobriety to one bor- 
dering on the madness usually occasioned by long continued intoxica- 
tion, and that he is entitled to a far more favorable judgment upon his 
last hours than he has received. 

It is possible that a much longer period than has been 
estimated elapsed between Poe's leaving New York and his 
call upon Sartain. Woodberry puts it at a "day or two." 

Such hallucinations are most frequent in delirium; the 
memory of the prison was as much a delusion as the hear- 
ing of a voice and the sight of a "white female figure" were 
hallucinations. Poe recovered from this attack, and spent 
some weeks in Richmond among his friends. He was kindly 
received and extensively entertained. His letters, however, 
show that he had not yet recovered. 

Oh, my darling mother, it is now three weeks since I saw you, and 
in all that time, your poor Eddy has scarcely drawn a breath except of 
intense agony. Perhaps you are sick or gone from Fordham in despair, 
or dead. . . . Oh, Mother, I am so ill while I write — . . . My valise 
was lost for ten days. At last I found it at the depot in Philadelphia, 
but they had opened it and stolen both lectures. All my object here is 
over unless I can recover them or rewrite one of them. 

In another letter, written to Mrs. Clemm shortly after 
this, he says : 

You will see at once by the handwriting of this letter, that I am 
better — much better — in health and spirits. Oh if you knew how your 
dear letter comforted me! It acted like magic. Most of my sufferings 
arose from that terrible idea which I could not get rid of — the idea 
that you were dead. For more than ten days I was totally deranged, 
although I was not drinking one drop; and during this interval I 
imagined the most horrible calamities. 

In spite of Poe's denials, alcohol probably precipitated 
this attack. Alcohol alone could not have produced such / 



100 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

hallucinations and delusions unless it had been continued 
two or three weeks, or had there not been, as a basis, a 
diseased cerebrum. 

An opiate could not have produced this condition. We 
know of no better drug in melancholia — no matter how 
produced — than cumulative doses of opium. 

In these diseased brain cells there is set up an abnormal 
brain psychology, the exact nature of which is still a 
matter of guesswork among psycho-pathologists. 

At all events this changed mentality is accompanied, 
and I believe is caused, by excessive circulation of the 
blood in the brain, exciting both the centers of the special 
senses and the cells presiding over ideation. These tech- 
nical explanations have no value further than as an aid in 
clearing up the condition of Poe at the time of his death. 

Letters of Poe, written about this time, throw further 
light upon his mental condition : 

My dear, dear Mother — I have been so ill — have had the cholera, 
or spasms quite as bad, and can now hardly hold the pen. 

The very instant you get this come to me. The joy of seeing you 
will almost compensate for our sorrows. We can but die together. It is 
no use to reason with me now ; I must die. I have no desire to live since 
I have done Eureka. I could accomplish nothing more. For your sake it 
would be sweet to live, but we must die together. You have been all in 
all to me, darling, ever beloved Mother, and dearest truest friend 

I was never really insane, except on occasions where my heart was 
touched. I have been taken to prison once since I came here for getting 
drunk. But then I was not, it was about Virginia. 

Fortunately, Mrs. Clemm was far away at the time 
these thoughts, as here expressed, dominated Poe. Pos- 
sibly many times before, while Mrs. Clemm was in active 
attendance upon him, these same ideas came to him. 
If so, she was in real danger. Homicidal mania such as this, 
especially when due to alcoholism, has not infrequently 
cost the lives not only of the patient but of those he loved 
and who most tenderly ministered to his needs. 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 101 

It was during these Richmond days that Poe again met, 
wooed, and won Mrs. Shelton. At this same time he was 
arranging with Patterson for the Oquawka magazine. 
Evidently no suspicion of approaching death was disturb- 
ing him. It is probable that a temporary expansive state 
was alternating with the depression from which he had 
been suffering. 

Mrs. Weiss writes : 

The knowledge of this weakness was by his own request concealed 
from me. AH that I knew of the matter was when a friend informed me 
that 'Mr. Poe was too unwell to see us that evening.' . . . On the day 
following he made his appearance among us, but so pale, tremulous, 
and apparently subdued as to convince me that he had been seriously 
ill. On this occasion he had been at the 'Old Swan,' where he was care- 
fully tended by Mrs. Mackenzie's family, but on a second and more 
serious relapse he was taken by Dr. Mackenzie and Dr. Gibbon Carter 
to Duncan Lodge, where during some days his life was in imminent 
danger. Assiduous attention saved him, but it was the opinion of the 
physicians that another such attack would prove fatal. . . . Dr. 
Carter relates how, on this occasion, he had a long conversation with 
him, in which Poe expressed the most earnest desire to break from the 
thralldom of his besetting sin, and told of his many unavailing struggles 
to do so. 

Poe, in spite of these repeated attacks, was seriously 
considering marriage with Mrs. Shelton, but before he 
took this step he wished to bring Mrs. Clemm from 
New York. Again he ventured forth alone. No one can 
trace his movements from the time he left Richmond, in 
his effort to reach New York, until he was found insensi- 
ble on the water front of Baltimore. In this condition he 
was removed to the Washington University Hospital, 
under the charge of Dr. J. J. Moran, where, on October 7, 
1849, he died. 

On his way north he stopped at Baltimore. Woodberry 
thus narrates the essential facts : 

Just as when in the summer of 1847 at Philadelphia he was saved 
by a friend, just as when in the summer of 1848 at Boston he was 



102 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

saved by a friend, just as in the summer of 1 849 he was saved by Burr, 
he had experienced one of those repeated attacks, worse at each re- 
turn, and he had found no friend by to save him. 

That Poe should have died alone and unfriended, 
deprived of the faithful nursing and devoted care that, 
on former occasions, had been given him by the woman 
he delighted to call "Dear, Dear Muddy," has proved a 
disastrous end to a life filled with misfortunes ; and on his 
memory it has left an undeserved stain that years have 
deepened. This circumstance has been used by his enemies 
as proof of his profligate living and as the culminating 
evidence of a misspent life. Those who feared and hated 
him rejoiced, not only at the fact, but at the manner of 
his death. 

Otherwise, no other name save that of Virginia would 
have been connected with Poe's and he might have passed 
into history as a shining example of connubial happiness 
that death itself could not dissever and the picture Harri- 
son drew of Poe's mental sufferings, due to the death of 
Virginia, might have seemed to have had a better founda- 
tion in fact. Death would also have saved the poor old 
mother, who was so willing to sacrifice all personal feel- 
ing, the agony of anticipating a marriage feast set out 
with cold meats and decorated with cypress boughs. A 
few days later she was summoned to a different ceremony : 
abject poverty prevented even this journey. 

Two weeks after Poe's death, his physician. Dr. Moran, 
wrote a fairly complete account of the facts of his death 
and described, with sufficient detail, its essential features. 

When Poe was taken to the hospital he was uncon- 
scious and remained in that condition from five o'clock in 
the afternoon until three on the following morning. 

To this state succeeded tremor of the limbs, and at first a busy but 
not violent or active delirium — constant talking and vacant con- 
verse with spectral and imaginary objects on the walls. His face was 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 103 

pale and his whole person drenched in perspiration. We were unable to 
induce tranquility before the second day after his admission. Having 
left orders with the nurses to that effect, I was summoned to his bed- 
side so soon as consciousness supervened and questioned him with ref- 
erence to his family, his place of residence, relatives, etc. But his 
answers were incoherent and unsatisfactory. He told me, however, 
that he had a wife in Richmond (which I have since learned was not 
the fact), that he did not know when he had left the city nor what had 
become of his trunk of clothing. . . . Mr. Poe seemed to doze, and I 
left him a short time. When I returned I found him in a violent delir- 
ium, resisting the efforts of two nurses to keep him in bed. This state 
continued till Saturday evening (he was admitted on Wednesday), 
when he commenced calling for one 'Reynolds', which he did through 
the night until three on Sunday morning. At this time a very decided 
change began to affect him. Having become enfeebled from exertion, 
he became quiet and seemed to rest for a short time ; then gently mov- 
ing his head, he said 'Lord help my poor soul', and expired. 

This is a simple and clear medical history. While it con- 
tains nothing that might hurt the mother, it does not 
attempt to minimize or explain away Poe's real condition 
on entrance, or to deny the delusions and hallucinations 
from which he suffered. It is an intelligent statement cov- 
ering the details of a death due to brain inflammation, or 
engorgement. 

It is unfortunate that Moran, in again writing on this 
subject, depended on his "senile memories." If any mem- 
ory ever needed refreshing it was his, for, some thirty-five 
years later, he wrote another account which in no particu- 
lar corresponds with the earlier one. In 1885, Dr. Moran 
published his much discussed "Defense of Edgar Allan 
Poe," giving the "Life, Character and Dying Declaration of 
the Poet." 

Dr. Moran's "Defense" contains nothing that aids us 
in arriving at an understanding of Poe's mental state 
upon admission to the hospital nor the cause of his death. 
On the other hand it confuses because the details as 
remembered thirty-six years after Poe's death materially 



104 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

differ from the report sent to Mrs. Clemm a few days 
after he died. The latter was a direct and simple state- 
ment of the facts without attempt at either extenuation 
or undue explanation ; the former was impressionistic and 
reflects the halo of martyrdom and legend already col- 
lecting around the name of Poe. It is essentially a defense 
and admits no fact that might dim the memory of Poe. 
The name, in every mention of it, is capitalized, thus 
exhibiting the intense reverence in which the memory of 
his hero was held. 

EDGAR ALLAN POE has been more misunderstood than any 
other poet of the recent past. While his life was beautiful and inspired, 
yet aspersed, his last moments had more of sublimity than that of any 
of his contemporaries. The author of gems so delicate as Annabel Lee, 
The Raven, and Lenore, while no less human and frail than others of 
his day, had a soul and heart that stamped him an offshoot of Divin- 
ity. 

Much has been said and written in relation to this singular and 
most remarkable of all our poets, whose life has been an enigma to the 
world and whose death a mystery. The nature of his disease and how 
he died, up to the present day, remains a matter of doubt except so far 
as have been gathered from a few brief voluntary publications made 
by his physician. . . . Without vanity permit me to say I firmly be- 
lieve that had they called upon me for statements as to when he died, 
I could have been instrumental in preventing his 'Dear Muddie,' Mrs. 
Maria Clemm, and his dear affianced, Mrs. Shelton, his first love, his 
Annabel Lee — from the sore afflictions and trials and heart burning 
that fell to their lot, and which in silence they endured. . . . Time 
speeds on and I repeat that thirty-five years have passed, and at this 
late period I am invited and urged to make known the facts so long 
desired in reference to his death. I am grateful to a kind Providence 
for having spared me to give the positive facts and unfold to the public 
mind much that had not been made known, and I hope to remove all 
doubt in respect to the uncertainty which has so long surrounded this 
part of POE'S history and life. I now proclaim to the world that he has 
been shamefully abused and misrepresented, that the habit of intem- 
perance, which to some extent did cling to him in his earlier history, 
did not continue with him in his more mature life, and that what I 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 105 

shall record, shall be a true, unvarnished story from personal inter- 
course for sixteen hours during his last illness, from his death-bed 
statements, from information received elsewhere, and from near and 
dear friends, those who knew him and loved him. 

It was my sad duty as his physician to sit by his deathbed; to ad- 
minister the cup of consolation; to moisten his parched lips; to wipe 
the cold death-dew from his brow ; and to catch the last whispered ar- 
ticulations that fell from the lips of a being, the most remarkable, per- 
haps, this country has ever known. Let me entreat your thoughtful 
attention, therefore, to a plain, unvarnished story of a checkered life, 
and the strange and melancholy events that darkened the last hours 
of a dying genius. 

**A tale I would unfold" — but, unfortunately, he had 
unfolded it some thirty-six years before, and apparently 
had forgotten to refold it. The report he now makes is so 
diametrically opposed to that contained in a letter to 
Mrs. Clemm immediately following Poe's death, that we 
must believe, influenced by his subject and entirely for- 
getting the facts, he has drawn up a story of "ratioci- 
nation" in an attempt to associate his own name with that 
of the immortal dead. 

It is not a deliberate attempt to deceive; simply time had 
filled Moran's brain cells with "lime," and many of them 
had been absorbed. It is not to be believed that Dr. Moran 
actually sat for sixteen hours wiping the "death-dew" 
from the arched brow, or that he administered any cup of 
consolation, or even moistened the parched lips ; this is all 
Southern hyperbole. It is what Moran might have done 
had Poe come back after thirty-five years with all his accu- 
mulated legends and his glorious reputation. Probably, as he 
related thirty-six years earlier — not knowing who Poe was, 
he turned him over to a nurse. His thirty-six-year-after 
statement, as far as it concerns the death of Poe, begins 
with a diagnosis given by the hackdriver that brought the 
dying man to the hospital : 



106 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

'Where did you find this man?' *0n Light Street wharf, sir.* I said, 
'dead drunk I suppose?' He replied, 'No, sir ; he was a sick man, a very 
sick man sir.' Why do you think he was not drunk?' I asked. 'He did 
not smell of whiskey,' said the driver, 'he is too white in the face. I 
picked him up in my arms, like a baby, sir, and put him in the hack.' 

Little did I then think, that after thirty-five years I should be 
called upon to give a full account of POE'S death and to defend the 
man whom at that hour I believed to be drunk; and that man, the 
great American genius, whose name is now a household word. 

In a few minutes POE threw the cover from his breast, and look- 
ing up asked the nurse, 'Where am I ?' The nurse made no reply but 
rang for me. I attended the call immediately, and placing my chair by 
the side of the patient's bed, took his left hand in my own and with my 
right hand pushed back the raven black locks of hair that covered his 
forehead. 

I asked him how he felt. He answered, 'Miserable.' 'Do you suffer 
much pain?' 'No.' 'Do you feel sick at the stomach?' 'Yes, slightly.' 
'Does your head ache, have you any pain there?' putting my hand on 
his forehead. 'Yes.' 'Mr. POE, how long have you been sick?' 'Can't 
say.' . . . 

The sick man said, 'Where am I ?' 'You are in the hands of your 
friends,' I replied, 'and as soon as you are better, I will have you moved 
to another part of the house, where you can receive them.' He was 
looking the room over with his large dark eyes, and I feared he would 
think he was unkindly dealt with, by being put in this prison-like 
room, with its wired inside windows, and iron grating outside. 

I now felt it necessary that I should determine the nature of his 
disease and make out a correct diagnosis, so as to treat him properly. 
I did not then know but he might have been drinking, and so as to 
determine the matter I said : 

'Mr. POE, you are extremely weak, pulse very low ; I will give you 
a glass of toddy.' He opened wide his eyes, and fixed them so steadily 
upon me, and with such anguish in them that I had to look from him 
to the wall beyond the bed. 

He then said, 'Sir, if I thought its potency would transport me 
to the Elysian bowers of the undiscovered spirit world, I would not 
take it.' 

*I will then administer an opiate, to give you sleep and rest,' I 
said. Then he rejoined, 'Twin sister, spectre to the doomed and crazed 
mortals of earth and perdition.' 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 107 

I was entirely shorn of my strength. Here was a patient supposed 
to have been drunk, and yet refuses to take liquor. ... I found there 
was no tremor of his person, no unsteadiness of his nerves, no fidgeting 
with his hands, and not the slightest odor of liquor upon his breath or 
person. I saw that my first impression had been a mistaken one. He 
was in a sinking condition, yet perfectly conscious. 

Dr. Moran's account shows a marvelous memory for 
verbatim statements and minute details of events which 
had occurred thirty-six years previously; so circumstan- 
tial and verbatim were they that I am sure I could not have 
retained and repeated them thirty-six seconds after they 
were uttered. 

This would be a trivial and uncalled for criticism did it 
not concern Dr. Moran's retraction of his statement made 
in the letter he wrote Mrs. Clemm a few days after Poe's 
death, while the facts were still fresh in his memory. 
According to this letter Poe was unconscious when 
admitted and remained unconscious for several hours; 
this was "succeeded by a tremor of the limbs, and a 
busy but not violent delirium." Dr. Moran also wrote 
that, when Poe was questioned with reference to his 
family, "his answers were incoherent and unsatisfactory. 
He told me however that he had a wife in Richmond." 
Further, he stated that Poe became violently delirious and 
sank into a stupor, dying without regaining consciousness. 
This renders all the more remarkable the following pen 
picture in the "Defense" of Poe's actions as well as a report 
of his last words : 

I said, 'Mr. POE, you are in a critical condition, and the least ex- 
citement of your mind will endanger your life.' He said, 'Doctor, I am 
ill; is there no hope?* 'The chances are against you.' 'How long, oh! 
how long,' he cried, 'before I can see my dear Virginia, my dear Le- 
nore!' I said to him, 'I will send for her or anyone you wish to see.' I 
knew nothing of his family or friends. I asked him, 'Have you a 
family?' 'No,' said he, 'my wife is dead, my dear Virginia. My mother- 



108 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

in-law lives; oh! how my heart bleeds for her; she said when we last 
met and parted at Fordham, 'Eddie, I fear this will be our last meet- 
ing.' I said, 'Mr. POE, I will send or write to anyone you maydesire 
me.' 'Doctor,' said he, 'Death's dark angel has done his work. Lan- 
guage cannot express the terrific tempest that sweeps over me, and 
signals the alarm of death. Oh, God ! the terrible strait I am in.' 'Shall 
I write to anyone for you?' 'Yes, Doctor, write to my mother-in-law, 
and Mrs. • no, too late! Too late!' 

Then he said, 'Write to both at once ; write to my mother-in-law 
and tell her ' Eddie is here ' — no, too late ! Doctor, I must unbosom to 
you the secret of my heart, though dagger-like it pierces my soul. I 
was to have been married in ten days.' 

He wept like a child, and even now I can see his pale face that told 
too plainly the depth of grief he felt, and the large tear drops forcing 
their way down the furrows of his pallid cheeks. I again asked, 'Shall I 
send for the lady?' 'No, write to both; inform them of my illness and 
death at the same time, and say that no conscious act of mine brought 
this great trouble upon me. How it happened that I am brought to 
this place, God only knows. My mind has kept no record of time; it 
seems a dream, a horrible dream.' I said, 'Mr. POE, my carriage is at 
the door; I will send for the lady.' 'No,' said he, 'write to Mrs. Sarah 
E. Shelton, Richmond, Va., and Mrs. Maria Clemm, Lowell, Mass.' 

I remained by his side, watching every breath and movement of 
his muscles. He had no tremor or spasmodic action at this period, which 
was twelve hours from his entrance in the hospital. I noticed the color 
deepening upon his cheeks and forehead, blood vessels at the temple 
slightly enlarging. I ordered ice to his head and heat to his extremities, 
and waited in his room about fifteen minutes longer, observing no 
change except increase in the circulation. . . . POE continued in an 
unconscious state for half an hour, but when roused he was conscious. 
On visiting him again I found his pulse feeble, sharp, and very irregu- 
lar. I took my seat by his bedside and closely watched him for twenty 
minutes at least ; the pupils of his eyes were dilating and contracting. 
Death was rapidly approaching. Just at this moment my friend. Pro- 
fessor J. C. S. Monkur, came into the sick chamber. As soon as he fixed 
his eyes upon the patient he said, 'He will die; he is dying now.' After 
a careful examination. Dr. Monkur gave it as his opinion that POE 
would die from excessive nervous prostration and loss of nerve power, 
resulting from exposure, affecting the encephalon, a sensitive and deli- 
cate membrane of the brain. . . . He seemed to revive a little and 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 109 

opening his eyes, he fixed them upon the window. He kept them un- 
moved for more than a minute. I have, since that time, been forcibly 
impressed with the wild fancies in that wonderful poem, The Raven. 
Did he hear a 'Gentle tapping at the window lattice," and was his 
heart still a moment, 'this mystery to explore' ? Did he see that stately 
raven 'perched upon his chamber door. Perched, and sat, and nothing 
more.* The dying poet was articulating something in a very low voice, 
and at length he spoke more audibly and said, 'Doctor, it is all over.* 
I then said, 'Mr. POE, I must tell you that you are near your end. 
Have you any wish or word for friends?' He said, 'Nevermore.' 

At length he exclaimed : *0 God ! Is there no ransom for the death- 
less spirit?' I said, 'Yes, look to your Saviour; there is mercy for you 
and all mankind. God is love and the gift is free.' 

The dying man then said impressively, 'He who arched the heav- 
ens and upholds the universe, has His decrees legibly written upon the 
frontlet of every human being, and upon demons incarnate.' 

I then consoled him by saying, 'He died for you and me and all 
mankind. Trust in His mercy.' . . . 

The glassy eyes rolled back ; there was a sudden tremor ; and the 
immortal soul of EDGAR ALLAN POE was borne swiftly away to the 
spirit world. 

This Statement of Moran is somewhat more impressive 
than the one he made to Mrs. Clemm, viz. : that Poe con- 
tinued calling for one "Reynolds," and was in violent 
delirium until the end, and that, as he died, he exclaimed : 
"Lord help my poor soul." 

In this memoir Dr. Moran insists that Poe was in the 
hospital only sixteen hours before his death. In referring to 
this matter, he says : 

A certain biographer has recently written that 'Poe was four days 
in a fit of delirium before he died,' and his cousin, Neilson Poe, is re- 
ported by this same writer to have said that he. Judge Poe, called to 
see him, but he was in such wild delirium that admission was re- 
fused; that he sent changes of linen, etc., to add to his comfort. I take 
this opportunity to assert that the statements are utterly untrue and 
without the slightest foundation. 

In the letter to Mrs. Clemm immediately following Poe's 
death, Dr. Moran wrote : 



110 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

When I returned I found the patient in a violent delirium, resist- 
ing the effort of two nurses to keep him in bed. This state continued 
until Saturday evening (he was admitted on Wednesday) when he 
commenced calling for one 'Reynolds' which he did all through the 
night until three on Sunday morning. 

The only medical importance this description possesses 
is that the symptoms accompanying death to a certain 
extent elucidate the facts of causation ; the letter to Mrs. 
Clemm supports the theory that Poe died of an organic- 
ally diseased brain complicated by an intense meningeal 
! congestion. 

I agree with Moran that Poe did not die of alcoholism, 
nor was his death that of a drunkard ; yet it is entirely pos- 
. sible that alcohol was the exciting cause. It is certain that 
]/ meningeal irritation, due to brain congestion or inflamma- 
tion — Moran seems to have kept no record as to whether 
or not there was fever — was the direct cause of Poe's death. 

Moran was probably mistaken in his statement that 
Dr. Monkur's diagnosis was an "inflammation affecting the 
encephalon — a sensitive and delicate membrane of the 
brain." Such a definition would be in serious conflict with 
the authorities we now recognize. Probably the word that 
Moran intended to use was meninges. If this be the fact 
Dr. Monkur was correct. 

Apparently it happened in the case of Poe, as in many 
similar cases, that there was a low grade of inflammation 
affecting the meninges, which, in all probability, had pene- 
trated and partly disorganized the brain-matter, composed 
as it is of brain cells and their connecting processes. This 
was of long standing, and, even without the use of stimu- 
lants, might occasionally give evidence of brain irritation. 
Alcohol, in the slightest quantity, can set up serious 
irritation — occasionally active inflammation — among such 
morbid and diseased brain cells. Whether or not in this 
particular case alcohol precipitated inflammation or in- 
tense congestion is not essential for the diagnosis. 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 111 

There is no reasonable doubt that the long continued 
use of alcohol by one who is predisposed, can produce 
this organic change. A simple debauch, with a brain not 
alcoholically diseased, rarely results in fatal delirium. 

Poe's alcoholic excesses were something for which he wasv 
not responsible. His drinking was the result of hereditary \ 
compulsion. It was as much a part of him as was his pecu- \ 
liar intellect. If we praise him for his genius, and if his 7 
work has made for the world's happiness, as long as we \ 
cannot forget the evil thing that obsessed him and for / 
which he paid the penalty, his faults should be condoned 
in the clear understanding that he cannot be held respon- 
sible for the transmitted neurosis. 

A time will come when the judgment passed upon Poe 
must be reversed, but this can be done only when due 
consideration has been given the evidence concerning his 
neurosis, the hereditary compulsion from which he suf- 
fered, and the serious mental depression that was a part 
of his life history. 

Early, often tragic, deaths are not unusual in men of 
genius. The life history of Napoleon and of other noted 
men who, at an early age, exhibited precocious mental 
capacity, have shown a corresponding early decline. Their 
failure, due to premature mental decay, was as marked as - 
their early successes. Nature's method of compensation 
is one difficult to override or to avoid. This premature loss 
of brain power comes as an unalterable psychological 
law, although, as in the case of Poe, it may be hastened 
by alcoholic poisoning. 

Genius is a divine flame that slowly burns and almost 
necessarily consumes those unduly endowed with this 
inheritance. There are few exceptions. 

In no case can alcohol be regarded as a cause of 
intellectual preeminence or can it key its victims to the 
performance of notable accomplishments. Swinburne* 



112 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

has been quoted as proof of the fact that even genius may 
require alcoholic stimulation in order that its finest pro- 
ductions may be given birth. That Swinburne's produc- 
tive power was lost when he ceased using intoxicants is 
only partly true. It is certainly not a fact that his creative 
conception was based on brain stimulation and that it 
ceased when no longer driven by alcoholic stimulants. The 
brain cells of both Swinburne andPoe refused to function, 
or functioned abnormally because of alcoholic abuse and 
senile decay, and no stimulant could restore to them their 
pristine vigor either of conception or of execution. They 
visualized only in an obscure medium "through a glass 
darkly." 

Such "Visions" as typify this abnormal state are oc- 
casionally hallucinated, but only "the highest mounted 
mind" can give them expression: 

I had a vision when tlie night was late; 

A youth came riding toward a palace-gate. 

He rode a horse with wings, that would have flown, 

But that his heavy rider kept him down 

And from the palace came a child of sin 

And took him by the curls and led him in. 

Where sat a company with heated eyes 

Expecting when a fountain should arise. 

A sleepy light upon their brows, and lips 

Suffused them, sitting, lying, languid shapes, 

By heaps of gourds, and skins of wine, and piles of grapes. 

Then methought I heard a mellow sound, 
Gathering up from all the lower ground; 
Narrowing in to where they sat assembled. 
Low voluptuous music winding trembled 
Woven in circles. They that heard it sigh'd 
Panted hand-in-hand with faces pale 
Swung themselves and in low tones replied 
Till the fountain spouted, showering wide 
Sleet of diamond-drift, and pearly hail. 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 113 

Then the music touched the gates and died 

Rose again from where it seemed to fail, 

Stormed in orbs of song, a growing gale; 

Till thronging in and in, to where they waited, 

As't were a hundred throated nightingale, 

The strong tempestuous treble throbb'd and palpitated; 

Ran into the giddiest whirl of sound 

Caught the sparkles, and in circles, 

Purple gauzes, golden hazes, liquid mazes. 

Flung the torrent rainbow round. 



And then I look'd up toward a mountain-tract, 
That girt the region with high cliff and lawn. 
I saw that every morning, far withdrawn 
Beyond the darkness and the cataract, 
God made Himself an awful rose of dawn. 
Unheeded; and detaching, fold by fold. 
From these still heights, and, slowly drawing near, 
A vapor heavy, hueless, formless, cold. 
Came floating on for many a month and year. 
Unheeded; and I thought I would have spoken, 
And warn'd that madman ere it grew too late 
But, as in dreams, I could not. Mine was broken, 
When that cold vapor touch'd the palace-gate. 
And link'd again. I saw within my head 
A gray and gap-tooth'd man as lean as death, 
Who slowly rode across a wither'd heath, 
And lighted at a ruin'd inn 

This poem has been mis-named the "Vision of Sin." It 
should have been entitled a "Vision of Genius." It was 
neither the "child of sin" nor the "skins of wine" that 
wrought this moral and physical change — rather the in- 
exorable law of destiny. From this "company with heated 
eyes" shut within the "palace-gates," intoxicated by 
"voluptuous music" that genius-gifted souls alone can 
hear, occasionally there bursts forth a song of immortal 
melody — the music of ages to come. 



Section II. Poe's Critics 

Such varying estimates have been given of Poe's moral 
character and so many differing statements have been 
made as to the facts of his life that it is difficult for his 
biographers to visualize the Man. Hypnotized by his bril- 
liancy they have idealized , or swayed by personal enmities 
and influenced by hostile statements they have pilloried 
Poe for public scorn. 

None of them have comprehended Poe's abnormal 
heredity, nor have they understood the morbid ills that 
were a part of his mental life in a way fairly to judge of 
the conditions under which much of his work was pro- 
duced. 

Poe's neurosis has been so exploited, and so marvelous 
and many sided was his genius, that it has been difficult 
for his critical biographers to classify him. 

Was Poe the Jekyll of Gill or the Hyde of Griswold ? 

Biography, like photography, is a matter of skillful 
delineation. It can be successfully pursued only by one 
who is both an artist and an impressionist. More than a 
faithful re-presentation is required. A simple reproduc- 
tion without a proper back-ground, lights, and shadows, 
is not regarded as the highest art, nor will the resulting 
portrait satisfy unless the individual negative has been 
retouched and the blemishes, which are a part of every 
human countenance, have been removed.The aging wrinkle 
that creases the forehead, the converging "crow's feet" 
that accusingly point to the arcus senilis, the wart that 
is slowly displacing the beauty-giving mole, even the 
statuesque pose we assume, and our attempt to look pleas- 
ant when the iron tongs grip our cranium — all these, as a 



116 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

rule, are painstakingly removed ; or, should the artist be no 
artist, are so modified that one may lose his individuality. 
Occasionally the photographer is compelled to take a side 
view because of some hideous deformity. 

Should the photographer whom we have trusted to 
make our likeness be so careless as to finish and to mount 
the photograph as it comes from the camera, without re- 
touching or in any way minimizing and disguising time's 
ravages or nature's handicap, we have a right to criticize 
the careless workmanship that was content to represent us 
with the disfiguring yet characteristic blemishes. 

Griswold did not hesitate to freely express, in the Poe 
Memoir, his dislike of Poe and the reasons that induced 
him to flay his dead enemy; and he asserted his right to 
teach the world by holding up to obloquy the life of the 
man who had so seriously offended. 

Moreover, his career is full of instruction and warning, and it 
has ahvays been made a portion of the penalty of wrong that its 
anatomy should be displayed for the common study and advan- 
tage. 

/ want no literary anatomist to dissect my inmost 
thoughts, or to explore my secret places — hidden even 
from myself — or to speculate on their untried possibilities, 
or to exhibit my organs as specimens of dextrous carv- 
ing. If Nirvana be denied the spirit that animates me, and 
if my remains be refused the right of cremation, and if they 
must still cumber the earth and be pointed to as anatom- 
ical specimens for exhibition, at least let my body be filled 
with spices and my skin be softened with the balm of 
Gilead, and let me be wrapped in spikenard and myrrh as 
the kindly Egyptians embalmed those whom they loved. 

The biographer occasionally minimizes faults, explains 
away defects, and, in time, may so idealize his subject, 
that we, who once knew him and loved him in spite 
of his frailties, who knew by experience his shortcomings 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 117 

and the human side of him, may be pardoned if we do not 
at first glance recognize the unfamiliar pose and the re- 
touched presentment. For this reason no biographer can 
satisfy who does not attempt, while giving the essential 
facts, so to Boswellize his subject as to free him from petty 
faults and minor weaknesses. 

Occasionally, biographers have committed serious errors. 
I do not care for Froude who enumerated the dyspeptic 
foibles of Carlyle, nor do I uphold Trelawney who exhib- 
ited the antics of the half-mad Byron; above all I dislike 
Griswold who defamed the man whom he should have 
honored and who, for this reason, shall be known as the 
"unfaithful servant who abused his trust.'' 

Should the biographer deliberately pose his subject 
from the scar side, exhibiting all deformities and magni- 
fying blemishes, at the same time touching out the features 
that do give individuality and the right to posterity's 
remembrance, he may no longer claim authority to repre- 
sent, or to be associated with one he has so foully wronged. 

Such an one was the Reverend Rufus Wilmot Griswold, 
who, by artifice and fraud, has so firmly and indissolubly 
connected his name with that of Poe, and in the preface to 
Poe's own works has made statements of such a character, 
so distorted when they bear the slightest semblance of 
truth, when not absolutely false so perverted as to be 
utterly misleading, that I cannot pass him over without 
discussion. 

Griswold was a man of Poe's own age. ' He had no he- 
reditary weaknesses, no compulsions, no obsessions, no 
genius. He had been a preacher. 

I imagine him to have been a man strongly built, with a 
squat figure; square, flat, stubby fingers attached to a 
markedly prehensile, hairy hand ; jutting brows surmount- 
ing small, close-set eyes that looked forth boldly and 
confidently; a long, fiat nose with spreading alae, and a 



118 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

prognathous jaw covered with a heavy beard which de- 
scended and became a part of his hairy chest. I cannot say 
that this picture, in outward form, more resembles Gris- 
wold's real features than the distorted moral picture he 
drew resembled Poe; yet God marks all of us. Beyond 
question there should have been some such physique to 
have contained the strong, sterling qualities, as well as 
certain moral obliquities that sometimes disfigure man. 
His countenance must have borne that sactimonious ex- 
pression which Hogarth gave to the Puritan — of that man 
who has never, in public, committed a wrong action or 
thought a wrong thought. Such men we had when the in- 
quisition flourished, when intolerance ruled our land and 
witches were burned, while old Cotton Mather from his 
pulpit urged on his flock to further deeds of righteousness. 
Mrs. Whitman, recalling Poe's picture in the first vol- 
ume of his collected works, says : 

The reader who has this volume in his hands, turns back musingly 
to look upon the features of the poet in whom resided such inspiration. 
But though well engraved, and useful as recalling his features to those 
who knew him with the angel shining through, the picture is from a 
daguerreotype and gives no idea of the beauty of Edgar Poe. 

As to whether Poe was responsible when he requested 
Griswold to edit his works or, as a matter of fact, whether 
this request was ever made, will be discussed later. It is 
certain that at no time did Poe ask or expect Griswold to 
write a memoir to be published as an introduction to his 
collected writings. 

This final tribute, which should properly introduce Poe 
to the world, if he required an introduction, had been 
assigned to Willis. At best it was to be perfunctory, as is 
usually the case when some personage addresses a small 
town audience, and the leading citizen is asked to take a 
seat upon the stage and make a few "introductory re- 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 119 

marks." Should this introductory speech be filled with 
scathing denunciation reflecting on the speaker's past his- 
tory, his morals, his manners, and branding him a felon, 
surely the introducer hardly would be thought to have car- 
ried out honorably his part of the function. 

Griswold was a man experienced in literary criticism, 
with some pretension to the role of arbiter as to those 
things that should constitute contemporary American liter- 
ature and that should be preserved ; yet he was possessed of 
no originality or capacity further than that second-rate 
capacity for collecting and annotating the work of others. 
He had published a few sermons and had written some 
verse, but his chief literary activity had consisted in col- 
lecting, annotating, and associating his own name with the 
work of his contemporaries. He had edited anthologies 
of the American poets, and had compiled books. To him 
we must credit "Poetry and Prose Writers of America," 
as well as "Washington and His Generals," "Napoleon 
and His Marshals," "The Female Poets of America," and 
other publications of like caliber. He was also responsible 
for "The Cypress Wreath: A Book of Consolation for 
Those Who Mourn," and a "Biographical Annual, Consist- 
ing of Memoirs of Eminent Persons Recently Deceased." 
Certainly none of these works, either by title or contents, 
gave any evidence of the powers of vituperation that 
dwelt in the reverend gentleman. It is certain he would not 
have dared to write of Poe, living, as he did of Poe, dead. 
Griswold had proposed to insert some of Poe's work in 
one of his anthologies — in fact it was in this way that Poe 
had made his acquaintance. Poe did not hesitate to criti- 
cize fully and freely "The Poets and Poetry of America," 
and to differ seriously with Griswold in his estimate of cer- 
tain authors. It is also true that, because Griswold occupied 
the position vacated by Poe on "Graham's Magazine," as 
well as for other reasons, there had resulted a personal en- 



120 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY ' 

mity. After Poe's death Griswold exhibited marked inter- 
est in the welfare of Mrs. Clemm, sympathized with her in 
her bereavement, and to her expressed friendship for Poe. 

Had there been no reconciliation, it is impossible for me 
to conceive the innate vindictiveness of a man that would 
deliberately take such revenge on a dead foe. I prefer to 
believe that the man's mental caliber was so small and 
his moral fiber so coarse that he did not appreciate the 
nature and quality of his act or the enormity of this 
breach of trust, simply because he had none of the in- 
stincts that would have restrained a more gentle man. That 
there was some foundation for this personal assault and 
these distorted statements makes it the more unforgivable. 
Certain it is that many of Poe's literary acquaintances, 
although they had received over-severe criticism at his 
hands, or had suffered in a business way to a far greater 
extent than had Griswold, came to the defense of the 
memory of Poe, and forgot small antagonisms and 
personal misunderstandings in rehabilitating the good 
name of the man whom they regarded as their literary 
master. 

If any of Poe's business associates had the right to com- 
plain, or to criticize certain acts and statements of Poe 
during his periods of irresponsibility, it was Graham of the 
"Graham's Magazine"; yet he, supported by Willis and 
other literary friends and associates, so bitterly denounced 
the death notice written by Griswold for the "New York 
Tribune," as to precipitate a controversy the echoes of 
which have not yet ceased to reverberate. Griswold excul- 
pated himself by asserting that, at the time he wrote 
the "Tribune" sketch, he did not know that he had been 
appointed Poe's literary executor. It is not certain that 
he was so appointed. He had "heard" that Poe "had long 
been in the habit of expressing a desire that in the event 
of his death I should be his editor." It is not for this pre- 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 121 

liminary sketch that Griswold's name is anathema. As a re- 
viewer or commentator he had the right to express his opin- 
ion of Poe, although it might have been a more friendly 
act and one more in consonance with the dictates of 
decency and humanity had he foregone this right, consider- 
ing their past differences and association. After accepting 
the editorship of Poe's writings Griswold was under no 
misconception as to the duties it entailed. 

I did not suppose I was debarred from the expression of any feel- 
ings or opinions in the case of the acceptance of this office, the duties of 
which I regarded as simply the collection of his works and their publi- 
cation for the benefit of the rightful inheritors of his property, in a 
form and manner that would have probably been most agreeable to 
his own wishes. 

In the 'Tribune" article published a few days after Poe's 
death Griswold made slanderous statements that most 
seriously reflected on Poe's moral character, and retailed 
incidents that, to him, seemed to justify the assertion 
that while it might surprise many to learn of Poe's death, 
"but few would be grieved by it." Had this statement been 
the only offense no further notice would have been taken 
of it, especially as Griswold did not sign his own name but, 
for a good reason, chose "Ludwig" as a fit pseudonym 
to accompany this denunciatory obituary. 

The Ludwig article began: 

Edgar Allan Poe is dead. He died in Baltimore the day before yes- 
terday. This announcement will startle many, but few will be grieved 
by it. 

The poet was well known personally or by reputation, in all this 
country; he had readers in England, and in several of the States of 
Continental Europe ; but he had few or no friends ; and the regrets for 
his death will be suggested principally by the consideration that in 
him literary art lost one of its most brilliant, but erratic stars. 

After briefly sketching Poe's early life, and the eminent 
respectability of "General Poe", as well as his relationship 



122 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

to "Admiral McBride," Griswold gives an account of 
Poe's first literary adventure : 

In 1832 the proprietor of a weekly gazette, in Baltimore, offered 
two premiums, one for the best story in prose, the other in poetry. . . 
Such matters are usually disposed of in a very off-hand way : commit- 
tees to award literary prizes drink to the payer's health, in good wines 
over the unexamined MSS. which they submit to the discretion of 
the publisher, with permission to use their names in such a way as to 
promote the publisher's advantage. So it would have been in this case, 
but that one of the committee, taking up a small book in such ex- 
quisite chirography as to seem like one of the finest issues of the press 
of Putnam, was tempted to read several pages. Being interested he 
summoned the attention of the company to the half-dozen composi- 
tions in the volume. It was unanimously decided that the prizes should 
be paid to the first of geniuses who had written legibly. Not another 
MSS. was unfolded. 

Poe, coming for his prize money, is described as: 

Thin and pale, even to cadaverousness, his whole appearance in- 
dicated sickness and the utmost destitution. A tattered coat concealed 
the absence of shirt, and the ruins of boots disclosed more than the 
want of stockings. 

On what foundation Griswold based his description, or 
whether it was altogether an imaginary sketch, cannot now 
be determined. This extract, as well as the first, was pro- 
nounced to be an overdrawn statement of the real facts, 
as occasionally is the newspaper way. Kennedy, Poe's 
discoverer and friend, did say that Poe excused himself 
from accepting an invitation to dinner, "for reasons of the 
most humiliating nature — my personal appearance." In 
his "Reminiscences of Poe," John H. Latrobe, another 
member of the committee that awarded Poe the prize 
offered by "The Saturday Visiter," gives the following de- 
scription of Poe : 

My office in those days was in the building still occupied by the 
Mechanics Bank, and I was seated at my desk on the Monday follow- 
ing the publication of the tale, when a gentleman entered and intro- 
duced himself as the writer, saying that he had come to thank me, as 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 123 

one of the committee, for the award in his favor. Of this interview my 
recollection is very distinct indeed. . . . He was dressed in black, and 
his frock coat was buttoned to the throat, where it met the black stock, 
then universally worn. Not a particle of white was visible. Coat, hat, 
boots and gloves had very evidently seen their best days, but so far 
as mending and brushing go everything had been done, apparently, 
to make them presentable. 

On most men his clothes would have looked shabby and seedy, but 
there was something about this man that prevented one from criti- 
cising his garments and the details I have mentioned were only re- 
called afterwards. The impression made, however, was that the award 
made in Mr. Poe's favor was not inopportune. Gentleman was written 
all over him. . . . 

Dr. Griswold's statement 'that Mr. Kennedy accompanied him 
[Poe] to a clothing store and purchased for him a respectable suit, 
with a change of linen, and sent him to a bath,' is a sheer fabrication. 

Describing Poe's personal appearance in the street, 
Ludwig wrote : 

He was at times a dreamer — dwelling in ideal realms — in heaven 
or hell peopled with creations and the accidents of his brain. He walked 
the streets in madness or melancholy, with lips moving in indistinct 
curses, or with eyes upturned in passionate prayers, (never for him- 
self, for he felt, or professed to feel, that he was already damned, but 
for their happiness who at the moment were objects of his idolatry ;) or 
with his glance introverted to a heart gnawed with anguish, and with 
a face shrouded in gloom, he would brave the wildest storms; and all 
night with drenched garments and arms wildly beating the wind and 
rain, he would speak as if to spirits that at such times only could be 
evoked by him from the Aidenn close by whose portals his disturbed 
soul sought to forget the ills to which his constitution subjected him — 
close by the Aidenn where were those he loved — the Aidenn which he 
might never see but in fitful glimpses, as its gates opened to receive 
the less fiery and more happy natures whose listening to sin did not 
involve the doom of death. 

This Ludwig article was bitterly criticised by John Neal, 
Poe's first literary sponsor, as well as by Graham, his long 
time associate, and by Willis, in his "Death of Edgar A. 
Poe", contained in the first volume. It was to amplify and 
to prove the basic truth of the Ludwig article that Gris- 



124 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

wold wrote the memoir he prefixed to*The Literati." Evi- 
dently smarting under these criticisms, he entered more 
fully into details and extended his descriptions of Poe's 
misbehavior, adding many statements later proved to 
be false. 

If, when Griswold wrote this first article he did not know 
he was to preside over Poe's literary remains, he certainly 
did know that, as editor and in complete control of Poe's 
collected works, by reproducing and amplifying his original 
charges he was holding up to obloquy a literary artist the 
latchet of whose shoe he was not worthy to touch. 

He took advantage of this accidental relationship to be- 
smirch the memory of one whom by all the codes of de- 
cency he was under obligations to shield. He attempted to 
prove that Poe was as evil and morally corrupt as he 
had described him in the Ludwig article. The unforgivable 
act was his insertion of this as a memoir prefacing Poe's 
collected works, so that they became the vehicle for carry- 
ing his defamatory statements to all the world ; and, still 
worse, these scurrilous accusations unfortunately bore the 
imprint of authority. 

It would have been better for the memory of both Poe 
and Griswold had Poe died somewhat earlier and been in- 
cluded in the "Memoirs of Eminent Persons Recently 
Deceased," or even in "The Cypress Wreath : The Book of 
Consolation for Those Who Mourn". Certainly it would 
have been better for Griswold, who did not confine himself 
to the villification of the dead but bitterly assailed those 
who had a good word for Poe and who were better ac- 
quainted with him through intimate business and personal 
relations. Quoting from Griswold's preface : 

My unconsidered and imperfect, but, as every one who knew its 
subject readily perceived, very kind article, was now vehemently 
attacked. A writer under the signature of 'George R. Graham' in a 
sophomorical and trashy but widely circulated Letter, denounced it as 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 125 

'the fancy sketch of a jaundiced vision,' and 'an immortal infamy* and 
its composition 'a breach of trust.' . . . And Mr. John Neal, too, who 
had never had even the slightest personal acquaintance with Poe in his 
life, rushes from a sleep which the public had trusted was eternal, to 
declare that my characterization of Poe is false and malicious, and that 
I am a 'caluminator,* a 'Rhadamanthus' etc., etc. 

All this is contained in a sketch, preliminary to the 
memoir, which Griswold inserted, and proves that he did 
what he did deliberately, calculatingly, and in cold blood. 
He recognized and conceded Poe's genius and did not deny 
to him primacy as the greatest of American writers. This 
was an unnecessary concession, inasmuch as the volumes 
in which it was to appear spoke in Poe's own behalf. 
Although unnecessary, a literary estimate with propriety 
could have been inserted. Poe's writings and not his morals 
should have been the matter for discussion. Amongst 
Griswold's encomiums was a most malignant attack on 
Poe's moral life, and a determined attempt to blacken his 
character by introducing hostile statements — some appar- 
ently true, but in no way proper to be related if true ; others 
absolutely false and malicious. 

What Griswold did not dare to state definitely — and 
there was little he failed to allege — he introduced by insin- 
uation and innuendo. In describing the final rupture 
between Poe and Allan he referred to some act which. 

If true, throws a dark shade upon the quarrel, and a very ugly 
light upon Poe's character. We shall not insert it because it is one of 
those relations we think with Sir Thomas Browne, should never be 
recorded, — being 'verities whose truth we fear and heartily wish there 
were no truth therein . . whose relations honest minds do deprecate. 
For of sins heteroclitical, and such as want name or such precedent, 
there is of ttimes a sin even in their history. We desire no record of enor- 
mities; sins should be accounted new. They omit of their monstrosity 
as they fall from their rarity ; for men count it venial to err with their 
forefathers and foolishly conceive they divide a sin in its society. . . . 
In things of this nature, silence commendeth history; 'tis the veniable 



126 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

part of things lost ; wherein there must never arise a PanciroUus, nor 
remain any register but that of hell. 

Such rumors, even if they can be authenticated, should 
have no place in a memoir where their mere presence 
breeds contagion. Many statements in which Griswold re- 
flects on Poe have been proved to be without foundation. 
In this particular case Poe, at worst, was under the in- 
fluence of alcohol when he made some slighting remark to 
Mrs. Allan regarding this second marriage. 

Griswold minimized nothing. In every instance where 
an immoral or even an indiscreet action was alleged, he 
made no allowance for the fact that Poe might not have 
been responsible. Many of his statements relate to inci- 
dents that occurred during the period of Poe's life when 
we know that his intellect was failing. It was not necessary 
that Griswold should have assumed an attitude toward 
the memory of Poe which did not fully represent his own 
judgment. Having undertaken the position of a literary 
executor, it was not his duty and should not have been his 
pleasure to exhibit in the worst light all the weaknesses and 
evil compulsions that exist in all of us. He certainly had 
no right to accept as a fact, and to include in this memoir, 
anything of a discreditable nature without the fullest in- 
vestigation, and then only as an elucidation of the text. 
His own explanation does not render the matter, or the 
manner, of his memoir less offensive : 

De mortuis nil nisi bonum is a common and an honorable senti- 
ment, but its proper application would lead to the suppression of the 
histories of half of the most conspicuous of mankind ; in this case it is 
impossible on account of the notoriety of Mr. Poe's faults; and it 
would be unjust to the living against whom his hands were always 
raised and who had no resort but inhisoutlawry from their sympathies. 
Moreover, his career is full of instruction and warning, and it has al- 
ways been made a portion of the penalty of wrong that its anatomy 
should be displayed for the common study and advantage. 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 127 

Few had more experience in biography and in the per- 
sonal study of authors than this Griswold, but in the case 
of no other writer did he find it necessary to demonstrate 
anatomy or to preach a lesson to the world. Even this 
pious intention does not justify such an anatomization. 
Griswold thus sums up Poe's demerits : 

His harsh experience had deprived him of all faith, in man or wo- 
man. He had made up his mind upon the numberless complexities of 
the social world, and the whole system with him was an imposture. 
This conviction gave a direction to his shrewd and naturally un- 
amiable character. Still, though he regarded society as composed alto- 
gether of villains, the sharpness of his intellect was not of the kind 
which enabled him to cope with villainy, while it continually caused 
him by overshots to fail of the success of honesty. He was in many 
respects like Francis Vivian, in Bulwer's novel of The Caxtons.' 
Passion, in him, comprehended many of the worst emotions which 
militate against human happiness. You could not contradict him, but 
you raised quick choler; you could not speak of wealth but 
his cheek paled with gnawing envy. The astonishing natural advan- 
tages of this poor boy — his beauty, his readiness, the daring spirit that 
breathed around him like a fiery atmosphere — had raised his constitu- 
tional self-confidence into arrogance that turned his very claims to ad- 
miration into prejudices against him. Irascible, envious — bad enough, 
but not the worst, for these salient angles were all varnished over with 
a cold repellant synicism [sic], his passions vented themselves in 
sneers. There seemed to him no moral susceptibility; and, what was 
more remarkable in a proud nature, little or nothing of the true point 
of honor. He had, to a morbid excess, that desire to rise which is vul- 
garly called ambition, but no wish for the esteem or the love of his 
species ; only the hard wish to succeed — not shine, not serve — succeed, 
that he might have the right to despise a world which galled his self 
conceit. 

In these words does Griswold close his self-appointed 
task of writing a memoir of Edgar A. Poe ! 

The standard by which Poe's actions and moral charac- 
ter were to be judged was established by Griswold and 
remained for many years the verdict on the man. 

Although no one attempted any thorough study either of 



128 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

Poe's life or his writings, there frequently appeared among 
short biographical sketches and in the prefaces to Poe's 
works references to his life, the main facts of which were 
usually based on Griswold's statements. These for many 
years remained unquestioned by the reading public, in 
spite of monographs either protesting against unfair judg- 
ments or filled with denials so general that they did not 
cover all the facts. These partisan statements in no way 
lessened the settled conviction as to Poe's immoral life. 
Gradually the belief became firmly established that, in 
spite of its brilliancy, possibly because of it, all of Poe's 
work was the reflex of a brain diseased or drugged. Some 
of Poe's contemporaries and close associates, such as Briggs 
of the "Broadway Journal," added their testimony to that 
of Griswold. In the preface to an early illustrated English 
edition of Poe's works, published in 1858, Briggs prefaced 
the "Poems" with this statement : 

A close study of his works will reveal the fact, which may serve in 
some degree to remove this embarrassment, that there is nowhere dis- 
coverable in them a consciousness of moral responsibility. . . .The 
Lenore whose loss he deplored, was a being fair to the eye, like Un- 
dine, without a soul. . . . Some of the biographers of Poe have been 
harshlyjudgedfortheviewgivenof his character, and it has natural- 
ly been supposed that private pique led to the exaggeration of his 
personal defects. 

But such imputations are unjust: a truthful delineation of his 
career would give a darker hue to his character than it has received 
from his biographers. In fact he has been more fortunate than most 
poets in his historians. Lowell and Willis have sketched him with 
a gentleness and a reverent feeling for his genius : and Griswold, his 
literary executor, in his fuller biography, has generously suppressed 
much that he might have given. 

This Briggs is one, among others, whom Griswold so 
considerately shielded from the sting of Poe's sarcasms 
when, as editor of Poe's collected works, he rewrote and 
softened Poe's estimate of "Harry Franco," the nom de 
plume under which Briggs wrote. Briggs* gratuitous insult 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 129 

to Poe was a tribute paid to the kindness of Griswold by 
one whom the latter had considerately protected. 

The statements of Griswold and his friends have been 
accepted without question by European critics. We may 
take pride in the fact that Poe is recognized by them as a 
great story teller and poet, and that, in their estimation, 
he ranks with certain of their writers — not with those whom 
they most highly regard. This toleration and recognition 
is, however, tinctured with a certain condescension. The 
estimates of his character, and of the things he wrote, are 
not pleasant reading. This attitude was taken not for the 
reason that Poe was an American, but because, being the 
man he was both by reason of his strength and his weak- 
nesses, he was misunderstood and misrepresented. That 
this was done ignorantly and not viciously does not make it 
more excusable. For this reason, I will mention certain of 
the foreign biographers before resuming a discussion of 
those who, in recent years, have elucidated the facts. 

In England Poe was regarded as a monster of vice. 
The details of his life were said to be so shocking that they 
could only be suggested. He was classed among the 
degenerates, or worse. 

The "London Athenaeum," gave this judgment: 

In most of Edgar Poe's tales there is either an extravagance, as 
though they had been written by a man on the verge of delirium 
tremens, or else a labored monotony, as though his resources were be- 
ginning to run dry. The poems, with their strange unwholesome vigor 
(if such things can be) speak for themselves. Their writer, apart from 
his works, had best be forgotten. Edgar Poe's stories seem, all of them, 
to have been written under the inspiration of gin-and-water. 

The first Englishman who attempted to stem this 
flood of ignorant criticism was Hannay, but his assertions 
were met with jeers of derision. Even at the present time 
Poe is not judged so kindly, nor are his works so fully ap- 
preciated as they are in America and France. 



130 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

"Fraser's Magazine" of August, 1857, contained a criti- 
cism of Poe based on a review of "The Poetical Works of 
Edgar Allan Poe : With a Notice of his Life and Genius. 
By James Hannay" : 

We must go back to the days of the early dramatists — of Marlowe, 
Dekker, Ford, Massinger, and Otway — before we shall find any par- 
allel to the wild and morbid genius and the reckless and miserable life 
and death of Edgar Allan Poe. Never was there a sadder story than 
that of this wayward and infatuated youth, his wasted opportunities, 
his estranged friends, his poverty stricken manhood, his drunken 
degradation, his gradual sinking lower and lower into the depths of 
profligacy and misery till at last he died of delirium tremens at the 
early age of 39. And his poetical genius, his extraordinary analytical 
powers, his imagination that revolved in the realm of the awful, the 
weird and the horrible ; his utter lack of truth and honor, his inveterate 
selfishness, his inordinate vanity and insane folly — all go to make a 
picture so strange, so sad, that it cannot be easily forgotten. This 
volume unhappily sets out with a biographical notice of Poe, written 
by Mr. James Hannay, which we have read with considerable sur- 
prise. Should any man of sense and taste, not acquainted with Poe, be 
so unfortunate as to look on Mr. Hannay 's preface before reading the 
poetry, it is extremely probable that he will throw the book into the 
fire in indignation at the self conceit and affected smartness by which 
the preface is characterized. 

Hannay's defense was rather apologetic and was by no 
means fulsome in its praise of Poe. 

In 1858, the "Edinburgh Review" reviewing Gris wold's 
four- volume publication, again expressed the English 
estimate of Poe. It was still more bitter in its denuncia- 
tion of his life and work, elaborating Griswold's charges 
and magnifying his assertions as to Poe's irresponsible 
actions. 

Edgar Allan Poe was incontestably one of the most worthless per- 
sons of whom we have any record in the world of letters. Many authors 
have been as idle ; many as improvident ; some as drunken and dissi- 
pated; and a few, perhaps, as treacherous and ungrateful; but he 
seems to have succeeded in attracting and combining, in his own 
person, all the floating vices which genius has hitherto shown itself 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 131 

capable of grasping in its widest and nnost eccentric orbit. Yet his 
chances of success at the outset of life were great and manifold. 
Nature was bountiful to him; bestowing upon him a pleasing person 
and excellent talents. Fortune favored him; education and society 
expanded and polished his intellect, and improved his manner into an 
insinuating and almost irresistible address. Upon these foundations 
he took his stand; became early very popular among his associates, 
and might have erected a laudable reputation, had he possessed 
ordinary prudence. But he defied his good genius. There was a per- 
petual strife between him and virtue, in which virtue was never tri- 
umphant. His moral stamen was weak, and demanded resolute treat- 
ment; but instead of seeking a bracing and healthy atmosphere, he 
preferred the impurer airs, and gave way readily to those low and 
vulgar appetites, which infallibly relax and press down the victim to 
the lowest state of social abasement. The usual prizes of life — repu- 
tation, competency, friendship, love — presented themselves in turn; 
but they were all in turn neglected or forfeited — repeatedly, in fact, 
abandoned under the detestable passion for drink. He outraged his 
benefactor, he deceived his friends, he sacrificed his love, he be- 
came a beggar, a vagabond, the slanderer of a woman, the delirious 
drunken pauper of a common hospital — hated by some, despised by 
others, and avoided by all respectable men. He was, as we have said, a 
blackguard of undeniable type. We say all this very unwillingly; for 
we admire very sincerely many things that Mr. Poe has produced. We 
are willing to believe that there may have been, as Mrs. Osgood has 
stated, an amiable side to his character and that his mother-in-law 
had cause to lament his loss. We learn, moreover, from Mr. Willis, 
that at one time, in the latter portion of his life, 'he was invariably 
punctual and industrious.' The testimony of that gentleman and of 
Mr. Lowell (both men of eminence in literature), tempted us at first 
to suspend our opinion of the author; but the weight of evidence on 
the darker side proved overwhelming, and left us no choice but to 
admit and to stigmatize with our most decided reprobation those 
misdeeds that seem to have constituted almost the only history of his 
short career. His was, as Mr. Griswold states, a 'shrewd and naturally 
unamiable character.' We refuse our assent to the argument of one of 
his advocates, that 'his whole nature was reversed by a single glass of 
wine.' We lean to the ancient proverb, which asserts that Truth is 
made manifest upon convivial occasions. 



132 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

The writer suggests a curious revival of the "Longfellow 
War" by the following statement : 

We are not able to ascertain the precise date at which he borrowed 
a poem from Professor Longfellow, imitated it, and afterward de- 
nounced the author as a Plagiarist from himself, the Simulator. The 
mimic poem is called The Haunted House,' and is one of Poe's best 
pieces of verse. The original is The Beleaguered City,' of Mr. Long- 
fellow. 

It is probable that by The Haunted House, this re- 
viewer intended to name Poe's The Haunted Palace, and 
that he might have confused this poem with The Deserted 
House of Tennyson; — one typifying a disordered mind, 
the other, death. That either bears the slightest resem- 
blance to The Beleaguered City, is not possible. If one of 
these poems suggested, or was the prototype of the other, 
the originator was Poe. T/zef/aunf^c/Pa/ac^ was published in 
"The American Museum" for April, 1839, and it is certain 
that Poe never borrowed a manuscript from Longfellow. 
The Beleagured City was also published in 1839 but after 
the appearance of the The Haunted Palace. 

The one-sidedness of the delineation of Poe seems to 
have impressed the reviewer and, while he does not ques- 
tion Griswold's statements, he seems to feel conscious of 
the possibility of the existence of a germ of good — if only 
it could be discovered : 

We feel, even in the case of Mr. Poe, that it would have been desir- 
able if a fuller biography had accompanied his works. Honest and 
able, so far as it goes, it leaves us without information on many mat- 
ters from which much might have been gathered to form an accurate 
judgment. Perhaps, after all, we are copying the deformities only of 
the man, at a time when we are anxious to submit all that was good 
as well as all that was bad. The roughnesses that were so conspicuous 
on the surface of Poe's character would naturally attract the notice 
of his biographer in the first instance. But, underneath, was there 
nothing to tell of? — no cheeriness in the boy — no casual acts of kind- 
ness — no adhesion to old friendships — no sympathy with the poor and 
unhappy, that might have been brought forward as indicative of his 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 133 

better nature. . . . For no man is thoroughly evil. There must be 
slumbering virtues — good intentions undeveloped — even good actions, 
claiming to have a place on record. . . . The influence of his faults 
were limited, and the penalty he alone had to bear. But the pleasure 
arising from his writings has been shared by many thousand people. 
In speaking of himself personally, we have felt bound to express our 
opinions without any subterfuge. But we are not insensible that, 
while he grasped and pressed hardly upon some individuals with one 
hand, with the other he scattered his gifts in abundance to the public. 

This ignorant and scurrilous review was approvingly 
copied by the editor of "The Ladies' Repository" a monthly 
periodical devoted to literature and religion, also edited 
by a preacher, the Rev. D. W. Clark, D. D. 

Griswold had won his case and had fully established the 
facts on which he had based his "unconsidered and imper- 
fect but, as everyone who knew its subject readily per- 
ceived, very kind article." 

The reverend gentleman had found the one method 
by which his prejudiced, untrue, and vicious statements 
could be disseminated equally with Poe's immortal works 
— possibly the only method, for none could read the one 
without seeing the other. 

In assuming the truthfulness of Griswold's statement 
in preference to those of Lowell and Willis, this reviewer 
evidently believed that, in inserting a "Memoir," of Poe 
into his collected works, at least that Griswold had not 
magnified Poe's faults but that he had performed a pain- 
ful duty. For this reason no odium was attached to Gris- 
wold because of his arraignment of Poe and it was be- 
lieved that his criticisms had been as kindly as could 
have been made, considering the offensiveness of the 
subject. 

Among foreign critics, the writings of Poe have ap- 
pealed especially to those of France, and it is among the 
French that his earliest and most earnest literary admirers 
were found. It is also among French writers that the 



134 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

Griswold charges have been most generally accepted, yet 
they did not detract from the pleasure Poe's work gave 
his French readers ; but that they have misunderstood and 
misjudged Poe, the man, is a serious matter. 

Even in America, the high position assigned to Poe is 
occasionally questioned. Sometimes he is called "decadent" 
because, probably, a certain French School has enthusi- 
astically praised his work. At one time America hesitated 
to accept him as she did Cooper and Irving — and Walt 
Whitman. Poe is a writer without a country, and no nation, 
nor age, nor period, may claim him. 

Although Poe found favor with the French and, before 
his death, was regarded by certain French writers as a 
master, the majority of their critics wonder and admire, 
but they do not accept him as a peer in comparison with 
their best writers. Nowhere has he been more severely 
condemned. 

His followers have proved his worst enemies, for their 
praises rest on certain of his qualities that are most ab- 
normal. Neither his life nor many of his best qualities have 
been fairly exhibited. Rather, they have set forth his ab- 
normalities, and they have made of him a monster — at 
least a spectacle to be imitated by some, but to be shunned 
by all who are not classed among the decadents. His chief 
exponent, Baudelaire, who translated his work and who 
set him up as a divinity, to be invoked and to be wor- 
shipped as a god, has seriously injured the standing of Poe 
among the greater French writers. 

As far as Baudelaire and his school are concerned, 
the things they admire and hold to be excellent render 
explanations unnecessary. 

Baudelaire apparently regarded Griswold's criticism of 
Poe as typically American, and that it was in consonance 
with our national standards. 

Baudelaire dimly realized that Poe was born with an in- 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 135 

heritance, perhaps not of evil, but one that was fraught 
with disaster. He psychologizes : 

There are, in the history of literature, many analogous destinies of 
actual damnation, — many men who bear the word Luckless written in 
mysterious characters in the sinuous folds of their foreheads. The 
blind angel of Expiation forever hovers around them, punishing them 
with rods for the edification of others. It is in vain that their lives ex- 
hibit talents, virtuesor graces. Society has for them a special anathema, 
accusing them even of those infirmities which its own persecutions 
have generated. What would Hoffman not have done to disarm 
Destiny? what Balzac not attempted to compel Fortune? Does there, 
then, exist some diabolic Providence which prepares misery from the 
cradle; which throws, and throws with premeditation, these spiritual 
and angelic natures into hostile ranks, as martyrs were once hurled 
into the arena? Can there, then, be holy souls destined to the sacri- 
ficial altar, compelled to march to death and glory across the very 
ruins of their lives? Will the nightmare of gloom eternally besiege 
these chosen souls? . . . Their destiny is written in their very con- 
stitution; sparkling with a sinister brilliancy in their looks and in their 
gestures; circulating through their arteries in every globule of their 
blood. ... I bring today a new legend to support this theory ; today, 
I add a new saint to the holy army of martyrs, for I have to write the 
history of one of those illustrious unfortunates, over-rich with poetry 
and passion, who came after so many others, to serve in this dull 
world the rude apprenticeship of genius among inferior souls. 

A lamentable tragedy this Life of Edgar Poe ! His death a horrible 
unravelling of the drama, where horror is besmutched with trivial- 
ities ! All the documents I have studied strengthen me in the convic- 
tion that the United States was for Poe only a vast prison through 
which he ran, hither and thither, with the feverish agitation of a being 
created to breathe in a purer world [Paris?], only a wild barbarous 
country — barbarous and gas-lit — and that his interior life, spiritual 
as a poet, spiritual even as a drunkard, was but one perpetual effort 
to escape the influence of the antipathetical atmosphere. . . . We 
might say that from the impious love of Liberty has been born a new 
tyranny — the tyranny of fools — which, in its insensible ferocity, re- 
sembles the idol of Juggernaut. 

Neither Baudelaire nor certain of his confreres were in a 
position to throw stones even had they been so inclined. 
Accepting as true all that Griswold alleged, they only made 



136 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

answer, "What Then?" Certainly it was not Poe who was 
at fault, but this "parvenue nation J' incapable of appre- 
ciating genius. 

Once more I repeat my firm conviction that Edgar Poe and his 
country were never upon a level. The United States is a gigantic and 
infantine country, not unnaturally jealous of the old continent. Proud 
of its material development, abnormal and almost monstrous, this 
newcomer into history has a naive faith in the all-powerfulness of in- 
dustry, being firmly convinced, moreover, like some unfortunates 
amongst ourselves, that it will finish by devouring the devil himself. 
Time and money are there held in extraordinary esteem; material 
activity, exaggerated almost to the proportions of a national mania, 
leaves room in their minds for little that is not of the earth. 

Baudelaire attempted no critical discussion either of the 
facts of Poe's life or of his works, and accepted everything 
that related both to his private life and to all he wrote, 
as that of a master, though a master overwhelmed with 
drugs and drink : 

Now, it is incontestable that, like those fugitive and striking im- 
pressions — most striking in their repetition when they have been 
most fugitive — which sometimes follow an exterior symptom, such as 
the striking of a clock, a note of music, or a forgotten perfume, and 
which are themselves followed by an event similar to the event already 
known, and which occupy the same place in a chain previously re- 
vealed — like those singular periodical dreams which frequent our 
slumbers — there exist in drunkenness not only the entanglements of 
dreams, but whole series of reasonings, which have need to reproduce 
themselves, of the medium which has given them birth. If the reader 
has followed me without repugnance, he has already divined my 
conclusion. I believe that, in many cases, not certainly in all, the intoxi- 
cation of Poe was a mnemonic means, a method of work, a method 
energetic and fatal, but appropriate to his passionate nature. The poet 
has learned to drink as the laborious author exercises himself in filling 
note books. He could not resist the desire of finding again those visions, 
marvelous or awful — those subtle conceptions which he had met be- 
fore in a preceding tempest; they were old acquaintances which im- 
peratively attracted him, and to renew his knowledge of them, he took 
a road most dangerous, but most direct. The works that give us so 
much pleasure today were, in reality, the cause of his death. . . 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY U7 

Upon the heart of this literature, where the air is rarified, the mind 
can feel that vague anguish, that fear prompt to tears, that sickness 
of the heart, which dwells in places vast and strange. Like our Eugene 
Delacroix, who has elevated his art to the height of grand poetry, 
Edgar Poe loves to move his figures upon a ground of green or violet 
where the phosphorescence of putrefaction, and the odour of the hur- 
ricane, reveal themselves. Nature inanimate participates of the nature 
of living beings, and, like it, trembles with a shiver, supernatural and 
galvanic. Space is fathomed by opium; for opium gives a magic tinge 
to all the hues, and causes every noise to vibrate with the most sonor- 
ous magnificence. Sometimes glorious visions, full of light and color, 
suddenly unroll themselves in its landscape; and on the furthest 
horizon line we see oriental cities and palaces, mist covered, in the 
distance, which the sun floods with golden showers. 

Baudelaire may speak for himself and his school ; these 
apparently looked for inspiration to such sources, and 
imitated the "Germanic horrors" occasionally indulged in 
by Poe ; however, I would like to have the prescription for 
the mixture, or know the brand of the beverage, that in- 
spired Poe when at his best. Drink and drugs, after their 
first stimulating or soothing effect, stupify. Their only 
value is in reviving those physically exhausted and in re- 
lieving mental unrest. They merely stimulate and distort. 

Again quoting from Baudelaire : 

Diderot is a blood-red author ; Poe is a writer of the nerves — even 
something more — and the best I know. . . , No man has told with 
greater magic the exceptions of human life and nature, the ardors of the 
curiosities of convalescence, the close of seasons charged with ener- 
vating splendors, sultry weather, humid and misty, where the south 
wind softens and distends the nerves, like the chords of an instrument ; 
where the eyes are filled with tears that come not from the heart ; hal- 
lucinations at first giving place to doubt, soon convinced and full of 
reasons as a book; absurdity installing itself in the intellect, and gov- 
erning it with a crushing logic ; hysteria usurping the place of will, a 
contradiction established between the nerves and the mind, and mien 
out of all accord expressing grief by laughter. He analyzes them where 
they are most fugitive; he poises the imponderable, and describes in 
that minute and scientific manner, whose effects are terrible, all that 



138 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

imaginary world which floats around the nervous man, and conducts 
him on to evil . 

Although Baudelaire did not deny any of Griswold's 
allegations — he had not the facts, nor did he feel the 
necessity of any explanation — he did resent, with Gallic 
venom, the use Griswold made of his editorial authority : 

The pedagogue vampire has defamed his friend at full length in an 
enormous article — wearisome and crammed with hatred — which was 
prefixed to the posthumous edition of Poe's works. Are there then no 
regulations in America to keep curs out of cemeteries? 

Baudelaire's concludes : 

The characters of Poe, or rather the character of Poe, the man with 
sharpened faculties, the man with nerves relaxed, the man whose ar- 
dent and patient will bids defiance to difficulties, whose glance is stead- 
fastly fixed, with the rigidness of a sword, upon objects that increase 
the more, the more he gazes — this man is Poe himself; and his women, 
all luminous and sickly, dying of a thousand unknown ills, and speak- 
ing with a voice resembling music, are still himself; or, at least, by 
their strange aspirations, by their knowledge, by their incurable 
melancholy, they participate strongly in the nature of their creator. 
As to his ideal woman — his Titanide, she reveals herself under different 
names, scattering in his, alas ! too scanty poems, portraits, or rather 
modes of feeling beauty, which the temperament of the author brings 
together, and confounds in a unity, vague but sensible, and where, 
more delicately, perhaps, than elsewhere, glows that insatiable passion 
for the beautiful which forms his greatest claim, that is to say, the 
essence of all his claims, to the affection and respect of poets. 

Baudelaire may find all this apropos of Poe, but where 
he made this discovery, or what his reasons are for drawing 
these deductions, puzzles me. I surmise that such con- 
clusions were the result of a vermuth dream. 

Another Frenchman, Emile Lauvriere, has placed upon 
Poe a brand more disfiguring than was that of Griswold ; 
for it has been assumed that his statements were made 
after a careful investigation of all facts, and by a man 
competent to pass upon the psychology of Poe. 

Lauvriere is a "Docteur es lettres" and "Professeur 



I 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 139 

agrege au lycee Charlemagne." In 1904 he wrote a critical 
study of the Life and Works of Poe, in which he attempted 
an "Etude de Psycologie Pathologique" as it related to 
Poe's abnormal mental state. 

Lauvriere's book extends over seven hundred pages. 
The first three hundred deal with Poe's life; the other four 
hundred contain a discussion of his writings. 

In both the first and second divisions of this critical 
study, Lauvriere has formulated theories by which he 
attempts to solve certain problems of Poe's life, and to 
explain the peculiarities which he believes to be charac- 
teristic of much that Poe wrote. Accepting as true all that 
Griswold alleged, Lauvriere has attempted to establish a 
thesis that demonstrates an inter-relation between the 
abnormalities described and the things that he asserts Poe 
wrote during the time that his brain was poisoned by 
stimulants, or narcotized by drugs. 

His conclusion that Poe became a "madman" because of 
a primarily disordered brain, diseased but stimulated by 
alcohol or hallucinated by opium, requires investigation. 

Because of the fact that this book was written before 
the publication of either Harrison's or Woodberry's 
biographies, Lauvriere has adopted as his authority the 
memoir by Griswold, and corroborates it by quotations 
from Briggs. The contributions of Ingram and Gill have 
been ignored; apparently they did not fit into his theory. 
His assertion that Poe's work is merely the manifestation 
of a disordered brain deserves special consideration: 

Before we continue the narrative of this hopelessly foredoomed life 
let us, for a moment, examine his contemporary work. We will find 
there the same pathetic role played by the same individual, whose 
haggard countenance is stamped by the imminence of insanity, [les 
traits a peine accentues predisent Timmimnence de la folic.] Always 
there is presented the same morbid hero, with his haggard, disease- 
stamped face, haunted by specters; a Poe prematurely aged and 
debilitated, who, stupified, sees in his own pages, as in a mirror, a 



140 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

reflection of himself as he awaits the fate to which he is doomed. The 
same exaggerated sensibility, the same overstrung nerves, the same 
profoundly unbalanced and over-excited imagination, the legacy of a 
decadent family which had been noted for the vigor of its imagination 
and for the ardor of its passions, and which, finally, because of the 
constitutional evil, manifested itself in a swarm of abnormal sensa- 
tions; the same inconsistency; the same incoherence arising because 
of his inability to overcome an habitual timidity, [meme incon- 
sistance meme incoherence qui vient de futiles efforts pour vaincre 
une trepidation habituelle] with excessive nervous agitation showing 
itself by trembling and broken voice, or, brusque and hoarse and per- 
fectly modulated, such as one finds in the hopeless drunkard, or in the 
incorrigible eater of opium. Why should one further seek to penetrate 
into this habitual and excessive reserve, into this dark and unbearable 
sorrow which reproduces itself over all that he sees in the physical 
universe, or in our moral nature, and which over them constantly 
casts its gloomy shadows? Those inconceivable and mysterious ob- 
sessions of terror and horror have, like an incubus, settled on his 
heart causing him baseless alarms. It is into this pitiful condition he 
sinks when, in that last hour of life, he loses his reason and must face 
a horrible phantom of fear. 

Sometimes, with staring eyes, in an attitude of profound attention, 
he gazes into vacancy as if he were listening to imaginary voices, 
again his eyes glow with mad hilarity attempting to hold in check an 
hysterical seizure in which the wild saraband dance of delirious and 
inchoate sensations, maddened even to crime, which rise in the sick 
brain like the nightmare of a madman, when they are aroused and 
throw themselves into the whirling dance, led by those two macaber 
and Satanic demons : Alcohol and Opium. 

It is difificult to understand Lauvriere's application — 
this dizzy dance led by macaber demons, these resounding 
words and misapplied metaphors — either to Poe or to the 
things he wrote. Apparently, in Lauvriere's mind, opium, 
alcohol, madness and Poe were inextricably mixed, and 
his portrait betrays this to such an extent that we fail to 
recognize in the likeness the slightest resemblance to the 
Poe we know, the Poe of whom even Griswold wrote, 
"His beauty, his readiness, the daring spirit that breathed 
around him like a fiery atmosphere." No testimony exists 



4 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 141 

either in the known facts of Poe's life or in the description 
all biographers give of his personal charm and the bril- 
liancy of his conversation, or yet in the things he wrote, 
that would justify these over-statements. It is most dif- 
ficult to understand Lauvriere's reason for describing Poe : 
Tantot it reste pendent des heures, les yeux fixes dans Vk.gar- 
ment, en une attitude de la plus profonde attention comme 
silpretait loreille a des bruits imaginaries; or his reason 
for assuming that this was a reproduction of the sensa- 
tions that haunted Poe's mind. 
In Berenice Poe wrote: 

To muse for long unwearied hours, with my attention riveted to 
some frivolous device on the margin or in the typography of a book ; 
to become absorbed, for the better part of a summer's day, in a quaint 
shadow falling aslant upon the tapestry or upon the floor ; lose myself, 
for an entire night, in watching the steady flame of a lamp or the 
embers of a fire; to dream away whole days over the perfume of a 
flower; to repeat, monotonously, some common word, until the sound, 
by dint of frequent repetition, ceased to convey any idea whatever to 
the mind ; to lose all sense of motion or physical existence, by means 
of absolute quiescence long and obstinately persevered in : such were 
a few of the most common and least pernicious vagaries induced by a 
condition of the mental faculties, not, indeed, altogether unparalleled, 
but certainly bidding defiance to anything like analysis or explanation. 

This extract from Berenice does not justify Lauvriere's 
deductions nor will it explain I effroyable sarahande de 
sensations incoherentes, deliriantes, affolies jusquau crime. 
This description was merely a day dream of the mentally 
indolent, and it well describes the auto-hypnotization 
into which all of us fall when we sink into revery. 

A study of the data upon which Lauvriere based this and 
other statements, and from which he drew his conclusions, 
makes it certain that such verbiage is not all French 
exaggeration, nor was this description written for literary 
effect. He was sincere in his beliefs, but his conclusions were 
based partly on untruthful allegations and partly on 



142 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

failure to understand scientific statements that can be 
variously interpreted. For this reason, it is proper that 
we know what was the foundation of his knowledge, 
and what were the scientific truths on which he based his 
conclusions. Lauvriere describes the preparation he made 
for his special study : 

When discussing such a condition, ordinarily one will say 'Bah! 
c'est un malade,' and passes on. But we did not care to side-step this 
question. We wished with a clear conscience personally to investigate 
this matter, and to discuss it intelligently, and remembering that Poe 
was a sick man, or, as Briggs expressed it, 'a psychological phenome- 
non,' it occurred to us that a study of medicine would be necessary 
and that, possibly, a physician could furnish the key to this startling 
enigma that conjoined Poe's life and his work. 

As our first inducement to begin on this study, a thing we little 
foresaw when we entered upon this work, was the intermittent nature, 
and frequent repetition of the brutal alcoholic attacks that were so 
prominent a symptom in the disease of this poor poet. All the symp- 
toms of degeneration were so deeply graven in the flesh and soul of 
Poe, they show as plainly in his poor haggard face, the face of an 
inspired vagabond, as they do in the pages of his immortal prose and 
verse. Mentally, as well as physically, this degeneration has left its 
indelible mark upon his whole being. This explains all his abnormal- 
ities ; his strength and his weakness ; his genius and his madness ; his 
defeats and his victories; without them his life and his work resemble 
monstrosities void of understanding; [monstruosites vides de sens] 
with them there is no more mystery ; everything is made clear, logical 
and harmonious. Although this extremely simple explanation of the 
complicated problem was made not without difficulty, these final con- 
clusions were not arrived at without painstaking study and extreme 
labor. It proved to be a new world for exploration: alienism, that 
distant and terrifying province of scientific psychology. Happily the 
means for exploration were at hand, and they served well for one in- 
terested, but untrained in scientific research. For this reason it proved 
pleasant, although it required long months that had to be devoted to 
this study. We did not hesitate. By reason of the permission granted 
to us by M. Brouardel, we were allowed to consult, according to our 
needs, such specialists as Ribot and Janet of the College of France, 
and Dr. Klippel of the Paris Hospital. To them we return thanks for 
the information they imparted, and for their considerate advice. 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 143 

While Lauvriere deserves credit for the effort he made, 
and for his good intentions, the result hardly justified this 
preparatory course of study. 

A little learning is a dangerous thing; 
Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring. 

Lauvriere was a "Docteur es Lettres," not a Doctor of 
Medicine. In attempting to discuss a subject by its very 
nature difficult and not fully comprehended by our most 
advanced students, and one concerning which so many 
diverse and radically opposed theories are advanced, he 
undertook something for which he was not prepared. 

I do not wish to be understood as intimating that to 
become a competent alienist one must be either a grad- 
uate in medicine or a psychiatrist. On the other hand, the 
reading of a few books, conversations with specialists, or 
association with those qualified to speak with authority, 
cannot, in the course of a few months, prepare the most 
eager investigator authoritatively to discuss a subject 
which, after years of practical familiarity and constant 
association, its students are forced to admit has no 
anatomical foundation, and permits only of the most 
general theorizing. 

Neither the anatomy of the brain nor the physiological 
changes that it undergoes when it functions normally, have 
been definitely established. Frequently it happens that 
some new stain upsets preconceived ideas of cell arrange- 
ment, their association tracts and fibrillary connection. 
Although anatomists believe they are making advances 
in special knowledge of this subject, no organ of the 
human body is less understood by the physiologist than 
the brain. Unlike other departments of medicine, there is 
no definitely accepted pathology of insanity, nor even a 
classification followed by all who discuss mental diseases. 
We still confuse first symptoms with causation ; nor have we 



144 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

the slightest conception of what physiological changes un- 
derlie normal ideation. Much less do we understand those 
changes in the cells of the brain that are responsible for 
abnormal psychology. We cannot solve the riddle of 
heredity, even though the researches of Mendel and others 
who amplified his observations have laid an excellent 
foundation as far as body-characteristics are concerned. 
Who has laid down, or can lay down, rules for guidance in the 
reproduction of those qualities of head and heart so neces- 
sary to the well-being of the race ? We talk much of eugenic 
laws, and various organizations learnedly discuss ways 
and means of human improvment. We can breed for size, 
or for other physical qualities; but we are more than 
animals. Brain is not synonymous with brawn. We must 
not measure the stature of Napoleon or that of Lloyd 
George by the yardstick. In that famous debate between 
those well-known Georgia Senators, Toombs and Stephens, 
when gigantic Toombs boasted that, if they would only 
grease Stephens' head and tie back his ears, he "could swal- 
low him whole," and little Stephens replied (borrowing 
from Scott) that "if he did, Toombs would have more 
brains in his belly than he had in his head," we have a 
memorable truth. How can we infuse into the texture of 
the brain those qualities that make for nobility of char- 
acter and greatness of soul ? that produced a Washington, 
and that typifies a Wilson ? What psychologist could have 
arranged the mating that produced the lovable qualities 
of a Goldsmith, or the dominating personality of a John- 
son? Who could have foretold the result of the paternal 
accidents in the life histories of Dickens, Lincoln, and 
Mark Twain? And what soothsayer could so have read 
the auspices as to have foretold the result of the mating 
of a strolling actress (unknown, and who, possibly like 
Topsy, "just gro wed") with the drunken, the degenerate, 
and the shiftless son of a family "whose greatest enemy had 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 145 

always been the bottle" ? The qualities of the mind, as well 
as their morbid reactions, are too delicate ever to be un- 
derstood or scientifically prearranged. For the world this is 
fortunate, however high an inheritance tax the victims 
of heredity must pay. Eradicate the nervous diathesis, 
suppress the hot blood that results from the overdose 
mating of neurotics, or from that unstable nervous organi- 
zation due to alcoholic inheritance, or even from insanity 
and the various forms of parental degeneracy, and we 
would have a race of stoics — men without imagination, in- 
dividuals incapable of enthusiasms, brains without person- 
ality, souls without genius. It is possible to mate for bulk. 
By selecting desirable physical qualities we can produce a 
perfect human brute, but we have lost those higher and 
ennobling gifts that have made so much for the world's 
pleasure and progress. Who could, or would, breed for a 
hump-backed Pope, or a clubfooted Byron, a scrofulous 
Keats, or a soul-obsessed Poe? Nature has done fairly 
well by us. Love, which mates opposites, which induces 
the weak to cling to the strong, the bold and reckless to 
seek the timid and retiring, the bulky frame to search out 
its opposite in the small and compact stature, provides a 
method of selection more in accord with natural laws than 
any eugenic statutes we could enact. The tuberculous and 
the neurotic have their place in Nature's scheme. Suppress 
them, and we have extinguished the flower before it has 
fruited. While nature often throws these aside in the first 
generation, always in the second or third unless comple- 
mentary mates are chosen, the genius in them has given 
to the world much that the world ill could spare. 

Into this mesh of theories, and into this quagmire of 
ignorance of Nature's laws, Lauvriere has entered boldly 
with his newly acquired knowledge. He attempts not only 
to solve the riddle of the mind, but confidently passes on 
questions of heredity. His study of genius is particularly 



146 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

enlightening, and the result he reaches measures the 
scientific value of his deductions. Using the translation of 
Professor Morris: "In short, everywhere in this temple of 
madness, we witness, enthralled by the charm of a dan- 
gerous art, the fascinating but exhausting spectacle of the 
human faculties, sensibility, energy, intelligence, imagina- 
tion, reason, taste, outraged in paroxysms of pain. If the 
frightful superiority of this extraordinary being comes 
from genius, then genius is nothing but frenzied excesses." 
To Lauvriere, Poe presents a type of genius in its most 
repulsive form. He traces Poe's career from infancy, 
stupefied by gin and surrounded by the squalor and 
poverty-begotten environments that were the lot of the 
dying mother, through unhappy boyhood with proud 
spirit chafing against restraint, into young manhood un- 
disciplined by moral laws; and he shows Poe's matured 
habits characterized by unceasing dissipation that weak- 
ened and finally overthrew a brain by inheritance ab- 
normal. 

Poe, from birth, was a degenerate. He was born under miserable 
hygienic conditions and inherited from his parents both an alcoholic 
neurosis and a phthisical constitution. With such an heredity this 
abnormal Richmond child presented a precocious intelligence and 
an exalted sentimentality, with a quick but intermittent energy on 
which was laid the foundation of his indisciplinable character. With 
a mind inflated by pride he passed an unstable youth immersed in a 
series of ecstatic, morbid trances, and mystic visions commingled with 
expansive ideas. Following closely upon such dreams came a series of 
rash and unconsidered adventures until defeats, responsibilities, and 
misery made of the rich, adopted, city child, of the proud poet, the 
brilliant idealist and dreamer a deserter, a wandering vagabond 
without hearth or home, an outcast, a madman, [un boheme sans feu 
ni lieu, un declasse un detraque.] 

Is he to be regarded as a man insane or as a genius, this strange, 
unbalanced and impossible personality; a man whose brain wanders 
on the border line between crime and genius? It is doubtless true that 
toward the end of his life and of his sad career, this poor decadent 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 147 

was a partially reasoning madman whose double, circular insanity 
was allowed to grow greater and greater, and there came recurring 
periods of depression complicated by outbreaks of erotomania. 

In this estimate, evidently based on Poe's own words, 
which Lauvriere has little more than paraphrased, and 
which we find in the opening description of William Wil- 
son, it is evidently assumed that Poe was giving an accur- 
ate autobiographic statement — a thing impossible to 
conceive except by one who assumes that everything Poe 
wrote was only his reflected self, and that he could give 
forth no other sentiments except those he individually felt : 

I am come of a race whose imaginative and easily excitable tem- 
perament had at all times rendered them remarkable; and, in my 
earliest infancy, I gave evidence of having fully inherited the family 
character. As I advanced in years it was most strongly developed ; 
becoming, for many reasons, a cause of serious disquietude to my 
friends and of positive injury to myself. I grew self-willed, addicted 
to the wildest caprices, and a prey to the most ungovernable passions. 
Weakminded, and beset with constitutional infirmities akin to my 
own, my parents could do but little to check the evil propensities 
which distinguished me. 

Poe, in writing William Wilson, did exhibit consummate 
psychological acumen. It is a story dreadful in its keen 
psycho-analysis, but it was not necessarily a personal 
experience, though he wrote in the first person. 

Lauvriere bases not only the conception, but even the 
ideation of much that Poe wrote upon his abnormal psych- 
ology while under the influence of drugs and stimulants : 

We believe that the truth is most difficult to arrive at for the 
reason that spiritual superiority is the infinitely variable product of 
mental faculties, more or less abnormal. . . . There is no human 
faculty the morbid development of which may not end either in 
genius or insanity, and, at times, it is difficult to draw the line of 
demarcation separating them. Not to mention the alternating states 
of exaltation and depression, equally characteristic of this state of 
nervous tension, it frequently happens that the artistic vision changes 
into an ocular hallucination; the inspiration of the poet into delirious 



148 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

ramblings ; the contemplations of the philosopher into ecstatic visions ; 
the unbending logic of the scientist into the reasoning paranoia ; the 
imperious energy of the man of action into a criminal impulsion : and 
how often, and in how many celebrated cases, has not this fated 
change come with some tragic denouement that has startled the 
world ? Between these two orbits of mental revolution, great as these 
extremes may be, there exists, for the genius, a large neutral zone 
where these differences, in the degree of the nervous and mental mani- 
festations, make their psychological relationship of less importance 
than are the practical consequences that may result. In the midst of 
this questionable zone floats the morbid genius of Poe. It was en- 
dowed with this distinctive precocity, and with the fatal predeter- 
mined course characteristic of innate tendencies. It possesses for an 
unstable basis morbid sensibility as greedy of, as it is susceptible to, 
intense emotional states. From birth to death it balances between 
conditions of ecstasy and melancholy, and this was the origin both of 
Poe's poetic inspirations and of his fantastic creations; of his literary 
dogmas and of his synthetical metaphysical creations. Because of 
these alternating conditions both in his prose and verse, come those 
passages of unutterable despair, as well as those vibrating with the 
exhilaration of life. From this comes that glowing mystic cult which 
unites beauty with death but ends by confounding them. From this 
influence come seraphic lovers filled with platonic dreams rather than 
inspired by passion. From this arises those macaber apparitions 
exaggerated because of the emanations of alcohol and opium. From 
this, also, comes those tremulous excesses of a degenerate character, 
a prey to the most contradictory forces. On this doubly unstable 
foundation his poetry, from its first childish prattle till its last senile 
ramblings, always sings its sad melodies that, rising from unconscious 
depths, survive reason. In his criticisms there is a mixture of bitter 
intolerance and of proud, suspicious egotism. His stories abound with 
hallucinatory visions of fear, and of obsessions that lead to criminal 
acts and, occasionally, are characterized by adventurous flights of 
intuition and marvelous 'chimeres de 1' imagination.' Even in his 
most grotesque mood, grinning behind his mask, his macaber visions 
and deep sadness lie hidden; and, in his excited discussions of the most 
abstruse problems, he erects on a frail and emotional basis the most 
fantastic structures of occult pantheism. 

The clarity of Poe's reasoning, and his powers of analy- 
sis as displayed by his solution of cryptograms, as well as 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 149 

in many of his tales, disprove this generalization of Lauv- 
riere. He has strangely ignored the keenness of the mental 
processes that Poe must have employed in writing such 
stories as The Gold Bug and the Murders in the Rue Morgue, 
and the imaginative qualities displayed in The Domain of 
Arnheim. Nor has he properly understood and differen- 
tiated the varying mental states Poe delineated in The 
Black Cat and The Tell Tale Heart. To use any of these 
stories, or that masterly description of an overwrought 
nervous depressive state, The Fall of the House of Usher 
(which in a certain way might have been autobiographic) 
as proof, or even as an illustration of a mental condition 
brought on by the overuse of alcohol and opium, is a 
psychological crime. It can only be explained by Lauv- 
riere's exaggerated belief in the value of the special studies 
he made. Our investigations into the effect of even small 
quantities of alcohol in retarding mental concepts, must 
have been well within his knowledge. That the brain could 
have so functioned as to produce results that required the 
highest idealizations and the strongest logical faculties, is 
the best evidence that it was not dulled by alcoholic 
poisoning. 

This thrice-repeated dancing skeleton of Macaber, 
which Lauvriere so insistently dangles before us, may have 
been Germanic in its conception, but it is essentially 
French in its later development, and in this peculiar 
method of application. 

While it is true that, upon occasion, Poe drank to excess, 
and that, in time, these frequently repeated, alcoholically 
poisoned drenchings did set up organic changes in the 
brain cells and their coverings, these circumstances added 
no brilliancy to Poe's mental faculties; on the contrary, 
they slowly and insidiously unfitted him for his best work. 
Although there were repeated acute mental disturbances 
they were of short duration. At no time, could Poe have 



150 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

been classified as a "madman," or was he a "monster." 
The vigor of Lauvriere's epithets carries him beyond a sci- 
entific pronouncement. Within certain limits, psychiatrists 
are agreed on fundamental propositions, and accept as an 
established fact the close relationship of diseases originat- 
ing in the nervous diathesis ; further than this they are by 
no means in accord. We recognize groups of symptoms, 
or "syndromes," as characterizing certain nervous states, 
but, at best, we do not more than generalize in our at- 
tempts to classify them. Beyond this, at times we seriously 
differ when specific claims are made as to definite causa- 
tion, or as to the modus operandi of brain functioning. 
There are as many theories as there are text-books. 

Much less this dreamer, deaf and blind, 
Named man, may hope some truth to find, 
That bears relation to the mind. 
For every worm beneath the moon 
Draws different threads, and late and soon 
Spins, toiling out his own cocoon. 

Lauvriere's error consists in his attempt concretely to 
apply these generalizations and his excess of faith in the 
soundness of the theories he has absorbed. He accepts as 
true all that has been alleged, and admits all into his dis- 
cussion as a basis for further generalization. In this way, 
he has erected a structure both "arabesque and grotesque" 
in which he has attempted to domicile Poe. 

His final estimate measures the psychological acumen 
of the man. 

Beneath this web of contradictory statements, the character of 
Poe seems to be an enigma : an unreal and an unbelievable personality. 
Some describe him as a man false, cruel, cynical ; more devil than hu- 
man, whose odious actions seem to arise from a monstrous perversion. 
Others describe him as a peaceful friend, generous, invariably kind, 
cheerful and courteous: a model in all that concerns social and domes- 
tic virtues; and that, in addition to this, he was the soul of honor. 
Which of these opinions shall we accept? Whom of his biographers 



i 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 151 

are we to believe? In our opinion, both. It is not wise to adopt the 
middle course and thus to efface an individuality which nature has so 
markedly accentuated. Whether or not we like it we must accept this 
double personality as a fact, and not as an exaggeration ; and, further, 
that they alternated the one with the other. Is it not a matter of 
common knowledge that the dipsomaniac, whether drinking or ab- 
stinent, resembles a man with two personalities inhabiting the same 
body ? one steady, sober, laborious, even austere ; the other only half 
conscious, almost insane, a prey to all follies, to all excesses? This 
double personality has been compared to a lighthouse that has two 
differently colored lights and, according to the disk through which 
the light shines, the rays appear red or blue. For this reason this 
remarkable man, who, to his tavern companions appeared to be little 
else than a degraded drunken sot, lacking human reason and moral 
sense, was, in the eyes of his friends and admirers, a poor misunder- 
stood genius who was calumniated, and, for that reason, so much the 
more worthy of admiration and sympathy. These two views cannot 
possibly be reconciled, and we must accept both as equally true: two 
aspects of this Janus with the double face. 

There is, however, a seriously complicating factor. As we have 
before remarked, dipsomania is nothing but an inherited form of 
insanity, and it may present itself under many aspects. In many 
cases, besides the more or less constant oscillation between melan- 
cholic depression and maniacal exaltation, there are a number of 
eccentric deviations which cross one another because of acquired or 
inherited degeneration. One should, for this reason, not speak of 
duality in the presence of this mental incoherence, but rather of the 
plurality of the ego, the breaking up of human personality, and the 
return of the individual ego to initial chaos [Effritement de la per- 
sonnalite humaine, retour de la colonic individuelle au chaos initial.] 
'An essential and striking clinical fact,' says Dr. Magnan, 'is the 
coexistence in the same individual patient of more or less marked 
obsessions, occasionally present at the same time, more frequently 
separated and exhibiting themselves at various periods of life. This 
peculiarity is especially to be noted and is illuminating because it 
makes clear and fully explains the nature of these morbid manifes- 
tations. When one thoroughly investigates the lives of these patients 
it is only exceptionally that only one syndrome is found. It is not rare 
to find several coinciding syndromes. Generally there is no law gov- 
erning this association, and their only point of relationship is in 
their origin. The more one observes the more frequently one finds 



152 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

examples of this multiplication. If all of these syndromes, thus co- 
existing, succeed and multiply themselves infinitely, it can only be 
because of the basic fact of their having originated from the same 
morbid condition, and that they are the result of cerebrospinal 
automatism. ' Thus through the destructive agency of suffering and un- 
happiness, of overwork and excesses of all kinds, this poor personality 
of Poe, so sensitively and so impulsively organized and so badly co- 
ordinated, began by degrees to show evidence of disorganization. It 
was for this reason that he began to show evidences of mental dis- 
turbance complicated by such impulses which, originally, he had under 
control, but which now destroyed the general harmony. Slowly there 
developed evidences of decay in his fragile and unstable individuality. 
From the fact of this loss of mental control comes the heartbreaking 
spectacle of a mind based originally on a groundwork of morbid sensi- 
bility, with time growing more diseased, with constantly increasing 
symptoms characterized by obsessions, impulsions, and morbid fears ; 
ideas of persecution and delusions of grandeur — all symptoms of a 
hopeless insanity. 

By neither absorption nor experience did Lauvriere 
understand more than the most general rudiments of a 
subject that no one fully comprehends. In attempting to 
apply these to Poe's particular psychology he accepted as 
definitely established truths the most generally applied 
theories. It was not altogether because of his dependence 
on Griswold for the facts of Poe's life that he wrote, "6'a 
vie et son oeuvre apparaissment commes des monstruosities 
vides de sens.^' Surely Poe's own work was open to him: 
had he not been blinded by scientific aphorisms, basically 
true but misapplied, he could not have drawn the con- 
clusions he did. 

Lauvriere's special study of dipsomania is based on ex- 
tracts and statements equally distorted. In copying from 
Magnan, and in elaborating on that excerpt as applicable 
to Poe, Lauvriere is in serious error. While it is a matter of 
every-day experience, authoritatively established by scien- 
tific knowledge, that a man suddenly may be seized by 
an obsession that compels him to seek oblivion in some 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 153 

form of narcosis, alcoholic or drugged, and that, during 
this time, he may sin grievously against the moral laws, 
this fact does not make him either a madman or, neces- 
sarily, a degenerate ; although it is established with equal 
definiteness that such attacks, frequently indulged in and 
unduly prolonged, may induce organic changes in the 
tissues that compose the cerebrum, and cause brain weak- 
ness resulting in acute mental disturbance. 

Lauvriere, rightly diagnosing Poe's inherited disease to 
have been dipsomania, has made a special study of this 
mental state : 

'Dipsomania is one of the evils following in the train of hereditary 
insanity, heredity always dominating as a predisposing factor in its 
causation : all such patients are predisposed to insanity by reason of 
their ancestry, insofar as we have seen, or can determine. Should one 
search into their early history it is found that, even in childhood, they 
have shown peculiarities of character and abnormalities of mind which 
distinguish them from other children of the same age, though raised 
under the same social conditions. One of these characteristics is a 
pronounced precocity. 

Such individuals are solitary, live apart, concentrate on special 
subjects, and, as a rule, are unbalanced, with a predisposition to 
melancholy. They are especially attracted by whatever is fantastic. 
With few exceptions they belong to that class of degenerates known as 
reasoning idiots.' 

Must we not, in reading these lines, admit that, in addition to these 
leading characteristics, the unfortunate Poe possessed all these second- 
ary traits which so indelibly and cruelly marked the physiognomy 
of this hereditary madman, doomed not only to abnormal mental 
peculiarities but especially to dipsomaniacal fury. 

Lauvriere has taken a very broad generalization of 
Magnan's, which possibly was intended as a reference to 
"psychoneuroses," and has used it as proof that *7a Dip- 
somanie nest quun sympibme de la folic hereditaire. 
The explanation given of the duality of Poe's personality, 
technically correct, assumed as true statements concerning 



154 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

the facts of Poe's life that had no existence except in 
Griswold's untrue assertions. In his scientific enthusiasm, 
Lauvriere fails to take into account some things that are 
a matter of common knowledge. Possibly a study of the 
context accompanying the excerpt from Magnan would 
show that Lauvriere's interpretation is misleading. It 
certainly is not a fact that syndromes typifying definite 
neuroses are interchangeable; nor do several of these 
manifest themselves in the same individual either at the 
same time or at different periods of his life history. One 
who inherits sick headache does not have epilepsy as a 
complicating factor, however closely related be their 
origin. Neurasthenia remains neurasthenia and by no 
means, directly or indirectly, does it necessarily change' 
into other neuroses. Dipsomania is not a term synony- 
mous with insanity ; neither by heredity nor directly does 
it bear a closer relation to mental diseases than do the 
other neuroses. Should a mental disturbance develop 
because of changed cerebral circulation, this is directly 
due to an organic change produced because of meningeal 
involvement, whereas insanity is essentially a functional 
disturbance, without an organic basis, and having no dis- 
coverable pathological changes as a foundation. Dipso- 
mania has, as a predisposing factor, not insanity, but a 
direct alcoholic inheritance. To call dipsomaniacs insane, 
or to class them among the mentally unsound, is not 
justified by our experience, even though, theoretically, they 
belong to the same group and, at times, do show traces of 
nervous instability with occasional irrational acts. Had 
this unsoundness taken the form of megrim, no such repre- 
hensible term would have been applied. 

To further make plain Poe's condition, Lauvriere 
quotes Barine: 

Recently, Arvede Barine, in three brilliant articles overflowing 
with generous enthusiasm, believed he had found in dipsomania, 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 155 

alone, the key to this enigma. But this dipsomania of Poe, as we have 
stated, can not be regarded as a form of drunkenness; rather it is 
absolutely the result of alcoholic degeneration and is in fact a general 
disease of the mind. . . . It is in vain that the frightened victim [of 
dipsomania] repeatedly attempts to regain self control, and takes 
oaths of reformation in attempting to strengthen his will-power over 
this alcoholic compulsion — an enemy that has now become a part of 
his flesh. 

In spite of all his efforts the vice persists and, unobtrusively, it 
accomplishes its task by slowly undermining his bodily functions; 
with an unstrung nervous system he becomes progressively weakened 
physically, and there only remains moral insensibility to the finer 
things of life, while all that is left is mental anarchy. There is a feverish 
activity which ends in hopeless impotence, and, in place of ambitions 
realized, only heart-breaking disappointments. It ends in hopeless 
weakness. There comes fierce criticisms or exalted praise; monomania 
of persecution, or the brilliant sparkling of a supreme genius; sensa- 
tional mystification, or a tenacious pursuit of gigantic projects. 

Although, occasionally, it happens that dipsomaniacs 
give evidence of a disturbed mentality, by no possible theory 
can they be called madmen. I have many friends — lawyers, 
physicians, occasionally clergymen, and men prominent 
in social and business life — who, possessing exceptional 
mental endowments, are the victims of this inheritance. 
Frequently they succeed in fighting off their periodical 
seizures; yet, when the obsession does overwhelm them 
they will disappear for a few days or for weeks. What 
happens during this period does not concern the world — 
as a rule. Whether they are able to remain in control of 
their distraught nerves, or whether they are swept away 
by the impetuosity of uncontrollable compulsions, they 
are equally sufferers from an hereditary neurosis. By no 
method of reasoning can this be considered tantamount 
to insanity; nor justly can they be called insane, although 
at times they may appear irrational, or be irresponsible. 

Lauvriere's inclusion of dipsomania, insanity, moral 
abnormalities, and genius in the same class can not be 



156 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

supported by any alienistic theory with which I am 
familiar, however closely they may be related basically; 
nor the further fact that they occasionally are associated 
in the same patient because of some intercurrent, tem- 
porary circumstance. His inclusion of men of genius is in 
line with the theory of certain sensational writers whose 
ideas have never been accepted by alienists. In no cir- 
cumstances can their mental state come under the usually 
accepted definition of insanity: "A condition of intellect- 
ual disturbance characterized by delusions out of which 
the patients cannot be reasoned." 

Yet Lauvriere furnishes a long list of names of those 
whom he includes in his classification, especially many 
English writers. Among these are Swift, Johnson, Blake, 
Burton, Rochester and others, and he adduces evidence of 
their mental unsoundness. That he excludes much of French 
literature from the taint of such origin is noteworthy : 

If French literature present less abnormal talent and genius, it is 
probably because the French spirit is more moderate and has been, 
for a long period, under the moral discipline of the XVI I century. 

Evidently a nation cannot judge of its susceptibility to 
such a charge more discriminatingly than can an indi- 
vidual. My own conception of French psychology preceding 
and during the times of Louis XIV is somewhat different. 

It is true that many names mentioned by Lauvriere 
have legends associated with them that would indicate 
peculiarities of character which differentiate them from 
the standards we have adopted and by which we judge 
the average man. Abnormal development of one particular 
faculty is regarded as a "gift"; yet it presupposes a cor- 
responding deficiency in some other mental quality. There 
is no such thing as a "universal genius." The brilliant 
orator, the musical genius, and the gifted painter are not, as 
a rule, characterized by "common sense"; and frequently 
they show a deficiency of mental poise because they lack 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 157 

some prosaic quality with which the average individual is 
endowed. An unbiased and unsympathetic investigation 
into the life history of most of our great men, whether of 
letters, science, or the arts, would exhibit many personal 
peculiarities, if not mental abnormalities. While, possibly, 
the "strict moral discipline of the XVII century" may have 
diminished this tendency among the French, Lauvriere 
finds it even there. Nor does he fail to cite the authority 
of antiquity as proof of "the insanity of genius" : 

This question is as old as the world. The ancients saw no differ- 
ence between the revelations of the wise-men and the ravings of the 
mad-men. For this reason they believed that the delusions induced 
by the gods were more trustworthy than were the deductions which 
were the result of human thought. . . . There is a third delirium, 
known as inspiration which, entirely enthusing a pure soul, animates 
and transports it. Nullum magnum ingenium sine mixtura dementiae 
was an adage evidencing the wisdom of the ancients. 

Lauvriere gives this judgment of Poe and his writings : 
The important question of the relationship of genius to insanity 
comes so definitely in the case of Poe, that Poe himself has asked it. 
For this reason we cannot avoid it : let us treat it frankly, not with the 
expectation of an impossible solution but in the hope of casting on it 
the light of our own investigations and that of many others. 

The whole monstrous work trembles beneath a wind of madness, 
and is only held together by some harmonious law of logic and by the 
secret virtue of marvelous artifice. But so great is his art, which 
triumphs over madness, that, from the coldest of judges, comes the 
verdict : 'No, this extraordinary man who, in a few works, has given to 
humanity some of its rarest thrills and supremest emotions, was indeed 
mad; or if the word genius really means originality, there was in his 
madness an inseparable as well as an undeniable mixture of genius.' 

This is an outrage on the memory of Poe comparable 
only to the verbal assault of Griswold. That it is the result 
of ignorance and not of malevolence may abate its moral 
turpitude but it does not excuse the act. It is due the 
good name of Poe that this stigma on his memory be 
removed, provided a fair investigation of the facts of Poe's 



158 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

life show that it is undeserved. It is certain that Lauv- 
riere's psychological studies do not justify him in finding 
this verdict. 

That this work of Lauvriere must possess merit as 
literature, irrespective of its scientific or critical value, is 
evident by the great reputation this study has achieved in 
France, and the tribute paid it when it was crowned by 
the French Academy. Whether or not it has been equally 
honored by French alienists, I do not know. 

If the crown with which this work has been distinguished 
was bestowed for its literary merits, probably the award 
was just ; if for its value as a contribution to the scientific 
study of Poe's psychology, I dissent. Further, as an alien- 
ist I claim that the jewels adorning this crown are either of 
synthetic manufacture or they are composed of paste. 



Immediately upon Poe's death, Griswold announced 
that he had been selected by Poe to be his literary executor. 
He sought Mrs. Clemm, obtained access to all of Poe's manu- 
scripts, letters, books and papers of every description, and 
undertook the task of collecting and editing all that Poe 
had written and published. From these papers Griswold 
selected those he believed worth preserving. Estimated 
by the new material published, either this collection of 
Poe remainders was small, or, in the judgment of this liter- 
ary editor, it was without value. In this republication certain 
reviews were suppressed, and others were modified either 
by Poe before his death or by his editor, Griswold. These 
manuscripts were never returned. 

By what means Griswold succeeded in gaining posses- 
sion of ''aW Poe's papers, and for what reason he wished to 
edit them and to preserve them when past differences 
were so notorious, deserves a much fuller discussion than 
this question has received. 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 159 

Woodberry barely refers to the matter, simply stating : 

Before leaving Fordham he [Poe] wrote requests that Griswold 
should superintend the collection of his works, and that Willis should 
write such a biographical notice as should be deemed necessary. 

If Poe wrote such a note, Griswold did not receive it. 
Griswold's own statement is explicit and definite : 

I would gladly have declined a trust imposing so much labor, for I 
had been compelled by ill health to solicit the indulgence of my pub- 
lishers, who had many thousand dollars in an unfinished work under 
my direction ; but when I was told by several of his intimate friends 
— among others by the family of S. D. Lewis, Esq., — that he had long 
been in the habit of expressing a desire that in the event of his death 
I should be his editor, I yielded to the apparent necessity. 

Griswold never stated that he had been directly asked 
to officiate in this capacity, nor that he had received such 
request by letter. Had he been directly approached 
he would not apologetically have published a number of 
irrelevant business letters, not always dated, which he 
prefixed to his memoir in order to prove that he was on 
friendly terms with Poe. 

For some reason Griswold took and retained Poe's 
private papers and MSS. Gill, basing his statement on 
letters and direct communications personally made to him 
by Mrs. Clemm, says: 

It was simply the act of a designing and unscrupulous man' 
prompted by hatred and greed of gain, taking advantage of a helpless 
woman, unaccustomed to business, to defraud her of her rights, and 
gratify his malice and his avarice at her expense. A small sum of 
money having been given to Mrs. Clemm in exchange for Poe's private 
papers. Dr. Griswold draws up a paper for Mrs. Clemm to sign, an- 
nouncing his appointment as Poe's literary executor. This is duly 
signed by Mrs. Clemm and printed over her signature in the published 
edition of Poe's works. . . . Mrs. Clemm, at the time she signed the 
paper which she scarcely understood, had no idea that Dr. Griswold 
had any intention of supplementing Mr. Willis' obituary with any 
memoir by his own pen. 



160 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

This refers to a preface, "To The Reader," signed by Mrs. 
Clemm, that had been inserted into the first volume, 
"Tales." In addition, this contained a short biogra- 
phy entitled "Edgar A. Poe," written by James Russell 
Lowell. This had been published in * 'Graham's Magazine' ' 
in 1845, and was here republished with slight variations. 
With this was a most appreciative review of Poe and his 
work by Willis, under the title "Death of Edgar A. Poe." 

In this edition of my son's works, published for my benefit, it is a 
great pleasure for me to thank Mr. Griswold and Mr. Willis . . . 
for labors . . . which they performed without any other recompense 
than the happiness which rewards acts of duty and kindness. 

Neilson Poe transmitted to Griswold all the books and 
MSS. that he found in the trunk that Edgar Poe had with 
him at the time of his death, and these, together with 
the things taken from Mrs. Clemm, must have consti- 
tuted Poe's library as well as his entire literary remains. 
Following Poe's death, Neilson Poe wrote Griswold : 

I have opened his trunk and find it to contain very few manuscripts 
of value. The chief of them is a lecture on the poetic principle and some 
paragraphs prepared, apparently, for some literary journal. There are, 
however, a number of books, his own works, which are full of correc- 
tions in his own hand. These ought, undoubtedly, to be placed in your 
hands. 

Woodberry in commenting on this letter describes cer- 
tain of these books : 

These volumes were the copies of the Tales and Poems, now known 
as the Lorimer-Graham copies, the copy of Eureka, now known as 
Hurst's copy, and possibly others, all afterwards sold with Griswold's 
library. 

Not one of Poe's books or MSS. was returned by Gris- 
wold to Mrs. Clemm.These he had especially demanded as a 
preparation for their proper publication, and they included 
not only all of the books, many of them specially annotated 
by Poe, but all his notes and private memoranda. It has 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 161 

been assorted that Poe, at the time of his death, had com- 
pleted a book which was to be entitled "The Authors of 
America,"and its publication was announced in the "Home 
Journal" as of immediate issuance. It has never appeared. 
It is possible that it contained criticisms which Griswold 
believed were not creditable to Poe : yet it is.not fair to Gris- 
wold to make so direct a charge of double dealing, for no 
one positively knows what was contained in the papers and 
books that Mrs. Clemm gave in toGriswold's possession by 
special request. It is also known that Poe had collected ma- 
terial for a "Critical History of American Literature" ; at 
least he so wrote Lowell. Nothing issued therefrom except a 
fragment called The Lighthouse. Had not Annabel Lee been 
in other hands, and The Bells already in type, one cannot 
but fear for their fate at the critical hands of Griswold. 

Although ill and under contract to other publishers, 
Griswold worked with feverish energy gathering together 
and preparing for publication all of Poe's tales and poetry 
and a few of his reviews. These were published by Redfield 
early in 1850. Griswold at least succeeded in doing that 
in which Poe had so signally failed. Although Poe had 
sought many publishers, only occasionally had he found one 
who was willing to print his work. Even on those few 
occasions, he had not been allowed the privilege of editing. 
Woodberry states : 

He [Griswold] finally persuaded Mr. Redfield to try the experi- 
ment of issuing two volumes first, which were published and had a fair 
sale — then the third and finally the fourth were added to complete the 
works. The sale reached about 1 500 sets each year. 

That Griswold was industrious as well as success- 
ful is certain, for although arrangements financial and 
otherwise were not completed with Mrs. Clemm until late 
in November, 1849, it is to be noted that the first volume 
containing the "Tales," as well as the second volume, 
"Poetry and Miscellanies," was copyrighted in 1849. 



162 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

Whether Redfield drove a hard bargain, or whether 
others participated in the profits that must have accrued, 
is not known ; but it is known that over twenty thousand 
sets of these two volumes, with the succeeding two, were 
sold, an enormous circulation for those days. Neither the 
estate of Poe nor Mrs. Clemm, directly or indirectly, re- 
ceived any of the profits. 

Who did receive the money earned by this publication? 

Mrs. Clemm was definitely promised not only that she 
should participate in the profits of the sale of Poe's works, 
but was made to believe that these would amount to a sum 
so large as to make her independent of charity. Apparently 
she thought that Willis was to be associated with Griswold 
in this editorship. She wrote to "Annie" : 

They say I am to have the entire proceeds so you see, Annie, I will 
not be entirely destitute. ... [I] have been very much engaged 
with Mr. Griswold in looking over his [Poe'sJ papers. . . . He must 
have them ail until the work is published. He thinks I will realize from 
two to three thousand dollars from the sale of these books. . . . How 
nobly they [Griswold and Willis] have acted ! all done gratis, and you 
know to literary people that is a great deal. . . . Those gentlemen 
who have so kindly undertaken the publication of his works say that 
I will have a very comfortable income from them. 

That her only recompense was as sales agent is shown by 
the following letter she wrote to Washington Poe, dated 
1851, two years after Poe's death: 

The publisher of my poor Eddie's works can only allow me as 
many copies of the work as I choose to dispose of amongst my friends ; 
but a continued state of ill health and a delicacy of feeling prevents 
my availing myself of this privilege, except through the kindness of a 
few friends who have disposed of a few copies for me. 

Mrs. Clemm lived an object of charity and she died in 
Q pauper's home. 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 163 

Already I have dwelled sufficiently upon Poe's literary 
enemies, and on the fact that others besides Griswold en- 
tertained the sentiments expressed in the Ludwig article ; 
and it is not possible altogether to excuse Poe from giving 
cause. In extenuation it can be said that a study of his 
morbid mental state shows that he was not at all times to 
be held responsible. While this must have been patent to 
all who associated with Poe, to those who did not' know 
him, such anexplanationwasworthy of slight consideration. 

On many occasions Poe was the aggressor : often to his 
credit, for to one who studies the literature of that day 
either as originally published in the many contemporary 
periodicals, or as selected and preserved in Duyckinck's 
"Cyclopedia of American Literature," much that Poe 
wrote, even if conceded to be severe, was undoubtedly 
true. In favorably criticising Wilmer's "Quacks of Heli- 
con," Poe asserted: 

We repeat it : it is the truth which he has spoken ; and who shall con- 
tradict us? He has said unscrupulously what every reasonable man 
among us has long known to be *as true as the Pentateuch' — that, as a 
literary people, we are one vast perambulating humbug. He has as- 
serted that we are dique-ndden ; and who does not smile at the obvious 
truism of that assertion? He maintains that chicanery, with us, is a 
far surer road than talent to distinction in letters. Who gainsays this? 
The corrupt nature of our literary criticism has become notorious. 
The intercourse between critic and publisher, as it now universally 
stands, is comprised either in the paying and pocketing of blackmail, 
as the price of a simple forbearance, or in a petty and contemptible 
bribery, properly so called — a system even more injurious than the 
former to the true interests of the public, and more degrading to the 
buyers and sellers of good opinion, on account of the more positive 
service here rendered for the consideration received. We laugh at the 
denial of our assertions upon this topic: they are infamously true. In 
this charge of general corruption there are undoubtedly many noble 
exceptions to be made. . . . But these cases are insufficient to have 
much effect on the popular mistrust : a mistrust heightened by a late 
exposure of the machinations of coteries in New York — coteries which 



164 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

at the bidding of leading booksellers, manufacture, as required from 
time, to time, a pseudo-public opinion. 

Poe strongly intimated that Griswold had accepted 
money or, as he expressed it, a ^^quid pro quo'* for admit- 
tance of certain writers into his collections, and that the 
amount of space assigned them depended on the sum of 
money they paid. Naturally, such statements intensified 
the personal dislike that from their first meeting had 
existed, into that deep-rooted hatred the evidence of 
which is so manifest in Griswold's memoir. Although Poe 
made these statements regarding Griswold publicly and in 
print long before his death, and on all occasions manifested 
his contempt, Griswold never openly resented it; on the 
other hand, after Poe's death Griswold exhibited solicitude 
for Mrs. Clemm and a desire to aid her in her bereavement. 
Otherwise he could not possibly have obtained permanent 
and complete control of all Poe's literary possessions, in- 
cluding even his books and private letters. 

The underlying reason that impelled Griswold to 
volunteer as editor of Poe's works, and to assume their 
publication, cannot be positively stated. Whether he was 
moved to this by a spirit of forgiveness for a dead enemy, 
by compassion for the benighted and helpless mother, and 
an honest admiration for the material that required the 
services of a skillful compiler; or spurred to revenge in- 
juries that he had never dared to resent while his foe 
lived, and a desire to protect his own good name from 
over-severe criticism, can never be known. 

That Griswold believed he could in this way associate 
his name with one who would be regarded as our greatest 
writer is a possible but not a probable explanation, for he 
was myopic when long vision was necessary, and astig- 
matic when breadth of vision was required, and his esti- 
mates of "autorial" merit — if they were honest — were 
characterized by a pronounced strabismus. 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 165 

Yet there was some compelling reason. As we can hardly 
read our own mind, much less that of another, the answer, 
at best, is a surmise and possibly would only approximate 
the truth, even if given by one unprejudiced. I can not 
qualify in this class, for which reason I doubt my own 
interpretation of the facts. 

Whatever be the reason, the result, in Woodberry's 
opinion, reflects much credit on Griswold : 

The one distinguishing tribute paid to Rufus Wilmot Griswold, 
one that establishes his characteristic excellences, was his selection by 
Poe to be his literary executor just before his death. Poe was a good 
judge of editorial capacity, notwithstanding a history of personal rela- 
tions that would seem to exclude the possibility of such a choice. 

Having had experience with Poe's criticisms, Griswold 
was willing to "edit" at least one of these, and felt it wise 
to suppress or modify others. I cannot believe, with Gill, 
that the assumption of this editorship was "prompted by 
hatred," and that the insertion of the memoir in order to 
damn a dead enemy was a deciding factor ; possibly, when 
Griswold saw the opportunity, he could not resist. 

There was a reason which did deeply concern Griswold, 
and which might have induced him to purchase "a//" 
manuscripts and thus obtain permanent control. Soon after 
"Poets and Poetry of America" was published Griswold and 
Poe discussed it, and Poe gave the following version of the 
conversation : 

I said that I had thought of reviewing it in full . . . and that I 
knew no other work in which a notice would be readily admissible. 
Griswold said in reply : 'You need not trouble yourself about the pub- 
lication of the review, should you decide on writing it, for I will attend 
to all that. I will get it in some reputable work, and look to it for the 
usual pay in the meantime handing you whatever the charge would 
be.' This you see was an ingenious insinuation of a bribe to puff his 
book. I accepted his offer forthwith, and wrote the review, handed it 
to him, and received from him the compensation ; he never daring to 
look over the manuscript in my presence, and taking it for granted it 



166 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

was all right. But that review has not yet appeared, and I am doubtful 
if it ever will. I wrote it precisely as I would have written under ordi- 
nary circumstances, and be sure there was no predominance of praise. 

One cannot be certain that this review, as written, was 
ever published. Apparently Poe did not make an extended 
criticism at that time, although there is an article repro- 
duced in Poe's collected works under the title, Mr. Griswold 
and the Poets. While not altogether flattering, it does con- 
tain pleasant personal references, and occasionally there is 
a tone of decided approval. 

In this preface, which is remarkably well written and strictly to 
the purpose, the author thus evinces a just comprehension of the 
nature and objects of true poesy, *He who looks on Lake George, or 
sees the sun rise on the Mackinaw, or listens to the grand music of a 
storm, is divested, certainly for a time, of a portion of the alloy of his 
nature . . . The creation of beauty, the manifestation of the real by the 
ideal, 'in words that move in metrical array is poetry. The italics are 
our own ; and we quote the passage because it embodies the sole true 
definition of what has been a thousand times erroneously defined. 

Neither this, nor other complimentary references, cor- 
respond with Poe's description of his review nor do they 
express Poe's real opinion of the work : 

By the way, if you have not seen Mr. Griswold's 'American Series 
of the Curiosities of Literature' then look at it, for God's sake — or for 
mine. I wish you to say upon your word of honor, whether it is, or is 
not, per se, the greatest of all the curiosities of Literature, or whether 
it is as great a curiosity as the compiler himself. 

Again Poe wrote : 

He is a pretty fellow to set himself up for an honest judge, or even 
as a capable one. I shall make war to the knife against the New Eng- 
land assumption of 'All the decency and all the talent' which has been 
so disgustingly manifested by the Rev. Rufus Griswold's 'Poets and 
Poetry of America.' 

Poe, in his lecture on "The Poets and Poetry of Amer- 
ica," severely criticized Griswold's volume. However, the 
crowning offense was his review in the * 'Saturday Museum' ' 
of the third edition of Griswold's "Poets." 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 167 

Poe began this review with a discussion of Griswold's 
capacity for such work. He questioned Griswold's preten- 
sion to having established either a literary or a critical 
reputation that would give him the right to pass on the 
qualifications and the literary performances of his contem- 
poraries whom he proposed to discuss. He asks: 

Did the 'Jonathan' or the 'Notion* attain any higher position 
than before, during Mr. G.'s connection with them ; or have the 'Post' 
or 'Graham's' improved under his supervision? The 'Standard' we 
leave out of the question as it expired under his management. Cer- 
tainly not the former ; and the brilliant career of 'Graham's Magazine' 
under Mr. Poe's care, and its subsequent trashy literary character 
since his retirement, is a sufficient response. . . . As a critic his judg- 
ment is worthless, for a critic should possess sufficient independence 
and honesty to mete out justice to all men, without fear, favor or par- 
tiality. . . . Are Dana and Hoffman the superiors of N. P. Willis? 
... Is Bryant a better poet than Longfellow? Certainly not, for in 
Longfellow's pages the spirit of poetry — ideality — walks abroad, 
while Bryant's sole merit is tolerable versification and fine marches of 
description. Longfellow is undoubtedly the best poet in America. 

After discussing versification and the art of poetry, and 
after specifying certain necessary standards that must 
guide a poet in his selection and treatment of a subject, il- 
lustrating it with various happy selections, Poe took 
up and critically dissected Griswold's poem, The Sunset 
Storm. He severely criticized its underlying idea, its ver- 
sification and its grammatical construction, comparing 
it, to its very great disadvantage, with the Charmed 
Sleeper. 

Did any one ever read such nonsense? We never did, and, shall here- 
after eschew everything that bears the name of Rufus Wilmot Gris- 
wold, as strongly as the Moslemite the forbidden wine, or the Jew the 
'unmentionable flesh.' . . . We shall quote some few passages from 
one of his latest reviews, and that on the author of the 'Charmed 
Sleeper' — Alfred Tennyson, whose genius and originality have ex- 
cited the imitative faculties of the principal poets of America. 'His 
chief characteristics pertaining to style, they will not long attract 



168 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

regard.' Here we have a gross grammatical error — two nominatives to 
one verb, 'characteristics' and 'they' to 'will.' 'He tricks out common 
thoughts in dresses so unique it is not always easy to identify them.' 
(Is this not originality ? Yet in the next portion of the sentence we hear 
this sapient critic say) 'but we have not seen in his works proofs of an 
original mind.' (0 temporal mores! This Griswold says of Tennyson!) 
Again, 'as a versifier, Holmes is equal to Tennyson, and with the same 
patient effort would in every way surpass him. We desire none of his 
companionship.' (Don't you hope you may get it?) 'Him who stole at 
first hand from Keats.' Well, if this is not the height of assurance we do 
not know what is, coming as it does from one of the most clumsy of 
literary thieves, and who in his wildest aspirations, never even 
dreamed of an original thought. A man who does not understand the 
first principles of versification, the author of the 'Sunset Storm,' and 
thus to speak of Tennyson, the author of the 'Sleeping Beauty' we 
have just quoted ! We can only say to Mr. Griswold, 'Jove protect us 
from his reviewing and the public from what he deems exquisite. . .' 
Let us proceed. Ah! what have we here? 'The creation of beauty, the 
manifestation of the real by the ideal, in words that move in metrical 
array, is poetry!' Now what is this but a direct amplification of our 
poet of the definition of poetry — 'the rhythmical creation of beauty — 
which appeared in Mr. Poe's critique on Professor Longfellow's bal- 
lads, from which we know, and he knows, he stole it. 

Compare this with Mr. Griswold and the Poets as pub- 
lished in "The Literati," and with the quotation already 
given that refers to this definition (p. 166). 

Well, we have looked over the book, and we find it just such a 
result as might be anticipated. The biographies are miserably written, 
and as to the criticisms on style, they certainly are not critiques 
raisonnes, and that simply because reasoning and thinking are entirely 
out of Mr. G.'s sphere. As to the different degrees of merit allotted to 
each author, we cannot help thinking it possible, but we will not say 
it, that sub rosa arrangements were made, and a proportionable quan- 
tity of fame allotted, in consideration of the quid pro quo received. 
Besides the whole work is not even a specimen of the 'Poets and 
Poetry of America' ; and in giving it our unqualified condemnation, we 
only cite the opinion of all, even to the poets who have been so unfor- 
tunate as to figure in its pages. 

So Poe continues, excoriating and vitriolic in his denun- 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 169 

ciations. He finishes his review with the following remark- 
able passage : 

Had Mr. Griswold the genius of Shakespeare, the powers of a 
Milton, or the critical learning of a Macaulay, he could not stem the 
torrent of animadversion this book has raised; but must be over- 
whelmed by the tide of public disapprobation which has set in so 
strongly upon him ; but as he has neither the one nor the other, what 
will be his fate? Forgotten, save only by those whom he has injured 
and insulted, he will sink into oblivion, without leaving a landmark to 
tell he once existed ; or if he is spoken of hereafter he will be quoted as 
the unfaithful servant who abused his trust. 

The italics are Poe's. Could words more prophetic have 
been written? 

This denunciatory criticism, which bears evidence of 
sincerity with a full comprehension of Griswold's failure 
as a critic, makes it impossible to believe that Poe did re- 
quest Griswold to become his literary executor. 

Griswold based his claim to appointment on the au- 
thority of "the family of S. D. Lewis, Esq.," declaring 
that he had heard from them that such was Poe's request. 

As Poe was leaving New York on his last journey, in 
bidding farewell to Mrs. Lewis at whose house he had 
spent the night, she reports that he said : 

You truly understand and appreciate me — I have a presentiment 
that I shall never see you again. I must leave today for Richmond. If 
I never return, write my life. You can and will do me justice. 

Woodberry, who has shown remarkable industry in 
gathering up all that concerns this controversy, fails to 
mention the "Saturday Museum," criticism of Griswold's 
"Poets of America," which necessarily did accentuate 
Griswold's hostility to Poe. Woodberry, remarking on 
Griswold's selection by Poe, does express surprise, stating 
that there was "a history of personal relations that would 
seem to exclude the possibility of such a choice," yet he 
does not question the truth of Griswold's assertion. 



170 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

Griswold in the preface to his "Memoir" denies enmity: 

Both these writers — ^John Neal following the author of the letter 
signed 'George R. Graham' — not only assume what I have shown to 
be false (that the remarks on Poe's character were written by me as 
his executor), but that there was a long, intense, and implacable 
enmity betwixt Poe and myself, which disqualified me for the office of 
his biographer. This scarcely needs an answer after the poet's dying 
request that I should be his editor ; but the manner in which it has been 
urged, will, I trust, be a sufficient excuse for the following demonstra- 
tion of its absurdity. 

Griswold quotes various letters, all referring to Poe's 
literary work, which he had proposed to include in his 
"Poets and Poetry of America," but the dates do not show 
that these were written after the "Museum" article, and 
Gill says that they were "emended." 

Woodberry says : 

Of these letters two originals only were among the Griswold Mss. 
and both varied materially from the printed text ; but however garbled 
the letters, the relations of the two men are plain. . . . These business 
communications contain expressions of regard for Griswold's work 
and apologetic expressions for censure, which may or may not be 
garbled or interpolated. 

Griswold made no attempt to conceal his real attitude 
both to the memory of Poe and to Mrs. Clemm. In a letter 
written to Mrs. Whitman soon after Poe's death, Griswold 
does not hesitate to express himself fully : 

I wrote, as you suppose, the notice of Poe in The Tribune', but 
very hastily. / was not his friend, nor was he mine [italics are Gris- 
wold's] as I remember to have told you. I undertook to edit his writ- 
ings to oblige Mrs. Clemm. ... I saw very little of Poe in his last 
years. ... I cannot refrain from begging you to be very careful what 
you say or write to Mrs. Clemm, who is not your friend, nor anybody's 
friend, and who has no element of goodness or kindness in her nature, 
but whose heart and understanding are full of malice and wickedness. 

It was "to oblige Mrs. Clemm" that Griswold undertook 
the editorship, when, by so doing, he had "to solicit the 
indulgence of my publishers, who had many thousand 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 171 

dollars invested in an unfinished work under my direc- 
tion." It is noticeable that Woodberry does not refer to 
the personal hostility existing at that time ; neither does he 
more than mention the "Museum" article, nor does he 
publish the letter that Griswold wrote Mrs. Whitman, 
though all other recent biographers have quoted it. 

It must have been some powerful reason that induced 
Griswold to neglect his own work "involving thousands 
of dollars," with whose safe keeping he was intrusted, 
and to undertake the work of editing the writings of an 
avowed enemy who had so bitterly excoriated him. It was 
not for gain and it was not for love; nor was it "an act of 
duty and kindness." It did result in Griswold's "editing" 
some of Poe's criticisms, even after they had been pub- 
lished ; in the emending of others, and in the suppression of 
his lecture on the "Poets and Poetry of America," as well 
as in the omission of the article which had appeared in the 
"Saturday Museum" from which I have quoted. 

After reading that closing sentence, I cannot believe 
Poe "had long been in the habit of expressing a desire in 
the event of his death that I should be his editor." To 
avoid being pilloried for future generations, a less vain 
and self-seeking author would have desired the control and 
ownership of such a publication. 

It is noticeable that this review has never been pub- 
lished in full even by the later editors of Poe's collected 
works and I have been able to find it only in the Gill 
appendix. 

Griswold's effort would have met with success had he 
been able, when so fair an opportunity presented itself, 
to refrain from besmirching the memory of one of whom 
he should have been more considerate ; at least he might 
have been forgotten, and not have been placed in the 
position of one who, "if he is spoken of hereafter, will be 
quoted as the unfaithful servant who abused his trust/' 



172 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

Beyond question, Poe's criticism warped the judgment 
of Griswold. He was a Reverend, and possibly that kind of 
a Christian who will receive an insult without openly 
resenting it, and will "turn the other cheek" when 
assaulted. A man who thus accepts an insult is to be feared 
more than one who bravely stands forth, and hits back 
with all the strength that is in him. A gentle answer never 
turned away honest wrath and righteous indignation. I 
am as fearful of such association as I was when, sleeping in 
a cave of the Lava Beds, I found that a rattlesnake was 
warming itself in my blankets. 

Christian though Griswold was, and meek and lowly as 
he may have appeared, he was not reputed to have been 
forbearing or honest. Ingram states that he was discharged 
from Graham's for "dishonesty," and that Thackeray 
"detected him in deliberate lying." 

Woodberry in his "Appendix" quotes Leland, an inti- 
mate friend and admirer of Griswold, who wrote of him : 

To the end of his life I was always with him a privileged character 
and could take, if I chose, the most extraordinary liberties, though he 
was one of the most irritable and vindictive men I ever met if he 
fancied he was in any way too familiarly treated. 

Another probable reference to Griswold is found in the 
"Six-penny Magazine," quoted by Woodberry. It referred 
to an "excursion to Fordham to visit Poe." 

Some sixteen years ago, I went on a little excursion with two 
others — one a reviewer, since dead, and the other a person who wrote 
laudatory notices of books, and borrowed money or favours from their 
flattered authors afterwards. He was called unscrupulous by some, 
but he probably considered his method a delicate way of conferring 
favour upon an author or of doing him justice without the disagree- 
able conditions of bargain and sale. It is certain that he lived better 
and held his head higher than many who did more and better work. 

Yet, in judging the man, we must understand the times. 
It was not a period characterized by literary honesty, and 
Poe's ''quid pro quo,'' applied to Griswold, could have with 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 173 

equal truth described the literary morals of many others. 
It is known that Greeley used Griswold for "unholy" pur- 
poses. "Get a right notice in the 'Ledger' if you can. But 
pay for it rather than not get a good one." Another wrote : 
"If you can get the accompanying notices published, one 
in the 'North American' and the other in the 'Evening Jour- 
nal' without betraying it, do so. I shall cheerfully recip- 
rocate the favor." Woodberry adds: 

Greeley's characterizations are the shrewdest in the volume 
[referring to the papers Woodberry had been employed to edit] often 
only hints, but effective, and to Griswold himself he sometimes uses a 
tell-tale frankness : 'Now write me a few racy, spicy — not personal, far 
less malignant' [evidently Greeley knew his capacity and recognized 
his ability] 'depicting society and life in Philadelphia.' . . . Again, 
The only principle I ever found you tenacious of is that of having 
your pay at least as fast as you can earn it.' There are several other 
obiter dicta from different persons with regard to Griswold, who cer- 
tainly had unamiable traits and grave defects. 

After all, it is possible that, in the beginning, Griswold 
was only the good dog, the spaniel that fetched and carried 
for Greeley. It is known that Greeley bore no love for Poe 
and that, because Poe borrowed a small sum of money and 
had not been able to return it, Greeley did not hesitate to 
brand him publicly. Poe bitterly protested: 

In the printed matter, I have underscored two passages. As re- 
gards the first : — it alone would have sufficed to assure me that you did 
not write this article. I owe you money — I have been ill, unfortunate, 
no doubt weak, and yet am not able to refund the money — but on this 
ground you, Mr. Greeley, could never have accused me of being habit- 
ually unscrupulous in the fulfillment of my pecuniary obligations. The 
charge is horribly false — I have a hundred times left myself destitute of 
bread, for myself and family, that I might discharge my debts. . . . 
The second passage embodies a falsehood — and therefore you did not 
write it. I did not 'throw away the quill.* I arose from a sick-bed 
(although scarcely able to stand or see) and wrote. 

It was Greeley who, according to his own report, ordered 
Griswold to write the Ludwig article, and while he does 



174 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

not specify the exact instructions that he gave, it is entirely 
possible, judging from his method of personal supervision 
as detailed by Woodberry, that he fully indicated the 
character of the obituary he desired for publication. It is 
certain that he did not instruct Griswold to write one "not 
personal — far less malignant" : 

We learned by telegraph the fact of Poe's death at Baltimore, in 
the afternoon following its occurrence and soon after, meeting Dr. 
Griswold, and knowing his acquaintance with Poe, asked him to pre- 
pare some account of the deceased for the next morning's paper. He 
immediately and hastily wrote in our presence his two columns or more. 

This article, it is not unfair to infer, may have been the 
joint production of Greeley and Griswold and for some of 
its passages they must be held jointly responsible. One 
cannot come to know the facts as they relate both to the 
genesis of this obituary and to its later elaboration into a 
memoir without having for its authors a feeling strongly 
akin to disgust. True or false the assertions made therein 
should not have been inserted into a memoir prefacing 
Poe's works, 

. . . and which we think with Sir Thomas Browne should never be 
recorded, — being 'verities whose truth we fear and heartily wish there 
was no truth therein . . . whose relations honest minds deprecate.' 

Although Griswold named Mrs. Lewis as his authority 
to act as Poe's editor, and she has been exploited as one of 
the friends who gave Poe aid and comfort in his time of 
trouble, I strongly suspect that her interest was a pose. 
There is reason to believe that her friendship was due to 
Poe's literary standing, the favors she had received 
from him and the assistance that she expected in further- 
ing her literary pretensions, rather than to any genuine 
feeling. 

There are certain letters on record that lead me to this 
conclusion. The first was written by Poe to Griswold and 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 175 

is a plea for a more lenient, or a more liberal, judgment of 
Mrs. Lewis, in his "Female Poets of America." 

Since I have more critically examined your 'Female Poets,' it oc- 
curs to me that you have not quite done justice to our common friend, 
Mrs. Lewis ; and if you would oblige me so far as to substitute, for your 
no doubt hurried notice, a somewhat longer one prepared by myself, I 
would reciprocate the favor when, where, and as you please. 

The italicised as makes it evident that Poe was prepared 
to pay in whatever coin Griswold might demand. Poe had 
no money, but he did have a remarkably vigorous pen. 
Those were queer times and we cannot always believe 
everything we read : in the case of Poe the remarkable 
thing was that sooner or laterhis critical judgment asserted 
itself, and he made plain his genuine estimate. Both Poe 
and Griswold were worth cultivating by any lady with 
literary aspirations. 

It is on record that Poe wrote Thomas: 

You would oblige me very especially if you would squeeze in what 
follows, editorially. The lady (Mrs. Lewis) spoken of, is a most par- 
ticular friend of mine, and deserves all I have said of her. I will recip- 
rocate the favor I ask, whenever you say the word and show me how. 

It has been said that it was of this lady's poems that 
Poe, when asked to review them, "simply remarked that if 
he reviewed her rubbish it would kill him." 

This, like many other alleged side-remarks attributed to 
Poe, is apocryphal. Harrison quotes Poe as writing: 

Mrs. Lewis is, perhaps, the best educated, if not the most accom- 
plished of American authoresses, . . . She is not only cultivated as 
respects the usual ornaments of her sex, but excels as a modem lin- 
guist, and very especially as a classical scholar; while her scientific 
acquisitions are of no common order. 

After Poe's death and the appearance of the Ludwig 
article with the "Memoir" containing a letter Poe had 
written to Griswold in which this lady's name was men- 



176 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

tioned — ^not a nice thing for Griswold to have done — ^Mrs. 
Lewis wrote Griswold : 

Nothing has ever given me so much insight into Mr. Poe's real 
character as his letters to you, which are published in this third volume. 
They will not fail to convince the public of the injustice of Graham 
and Neal's articles. I was astonished at the part of P.'s Note, where he 
says — 'But I have promised Mrs. L. this.' I will explain. Mrs. C[lemm] 
said to me on one of her visits, 'Dr. G[riswoldl has been at Fordham. 
He came to see Eddie about you. Something about the new edition of 
"The Female Poets." But you are not to know anything about it.' 
Mr. P. never mentioned the subject to me, or I to him. He only sent 
to me for my latest poems, saying that you were going to increase or 
rewrite the Sketch for a new edition of 'The Female Poets.* 

Such a return for such a kindly meant act of Poe by such 
a woman! It is to be hoped that she so placated Griswold 
that he did amplify her "Sketch," even though she comes 
down to us not because she appeared among the "Female 
Poets" but because she has been included among Poe's 
friends and has been alluded to as his benefactress. This 
letter has not been commented on by any of Poe's bio- 
graphers, although Woodbury refers to it in his "Notes". 

Even though there were many of Poe's old friends and 
former associates loyal to his memory who on num- 
erous occasions rallied to his defense, their kind recol- 
lections and assertions of his good qualities availed little. 
Their voices were drowned by the vehemence of Gris- 
wold's denunciations. So forgotten are these statements, 
and so scattered are they in the pages of obsolete maga- 
zines, that I will partly quote a few of them. 

In a letter to Willis, written after Poe's death, in answer 
to the abuse Griswold had heaped upon Poe in his memoir, 
Graham wrote: 

You have spoken with so much truth and delicacy of the deceased, 
and, with the magical touch of genius, have called so warmly up be- 
fore me the memory of our lost friend as you and I both seemed to 
have known him, that I feel warranted in addressing to you the few 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 177 

plain words I have to say in defense of his character as set down by 
Mr. Griswold. 

Although the article, it seems, appeared in the 'New York Tri- 
bune,' it met my eye for the first time in the volume before me. I now 
purpose to take exception to it in the most public manner. I knew 
Mr. Poe well, far better than Mr. Griswold ; and by the memory of old 
times, when he was editor of 'Graham's,' I pronounce this exceedingly 
ill-timed and unappreciative estimate of the character of our lost 
friend, unfair and untrue. It is Mr. Poe as seen by the writer while 
laboring under a fit of the nightmare, but so dark a picture has no re- 
semblance to the living man. Accompanying these beautiful volumes 
it is an immortal infamy, the death's head over the entrance to the 
garden of beauty, a horror that clings to the brow of morning, whis- 
pering of murder. It haunts the memory through every page of his 
writings, leaving upon the heart a sensation of gloom, a feeling almost 
of terror. The only relief we feel is in knowing that it is not true, that 
it is a fancy sketch of a perverted, jaundiced vision. The man who 
could deliberately say of Edgar Allan Poe, in a notice of his life and 
writings prefacing volumes which were to become a priceless souvenir 
to all who loved him, that his death might startle many, 'but that few 
would be grieved by it,' and blast the whole reputation of the man by 
such a paragraph as follows, is a judge dishonored. He is not Mr. Poe's 
peer, and I challenge him before the country even as a juror in the 
case. 

In referring to Griswold's statement that "you could not 
contradict him, but you raised his quick choler: you could not 
speak of wealth but his cheek paled with gnawing enuy," 
Graham, for Poe's friends, answered : 

This is dastardly, and, what is worse, it is false. It is very adroitly 
done, with phrases very well turned, and with gleams of truth shining 
out from a setting so dusky, as to look devilish. Mr. Griswold does not 
feel the worth of the man he has undervalued; he had no sympathy in 
common with him, and has allowed old prejudices and old enmities to 
steal, insensibly perhaps, into the coloring of his picture. They were 
for years totally uncongenial, if not enemies, and during that period 
Mr. Poe, in a scathing lecture upon the "Poets of America," gave 
Mr. Griswold some raps over the knuckles of force sufficient to be re- 
membered. He had, too, in the exercise of his functions as a critic, put 
to death summarily the literary reputation of some of Mr. Griswold's 



178 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

best friends ; and their ghosts cried in vain for him to avenge them dur- 
ing Poe's life-time, and it almost seems as if the present hacking at the 
cold remains of him who struck them down, is a sort of compensation 
for duty long delayed, for reprisal long desired, but deferred. But 
without this, the opportunities afforded Mr. Griswold to estimate the 
character of Poe occurred, in the main, after his stability had been 
wrecked, his whole nature in a degree changed and with all his prej- 
udices aroused and active. Nor do I consider Mr. Griswold competent, 
with all the opportunities he may have cultivated or acquired, to act as 
his judge, to dissect that subtle and singularly fine intellect, to probe 
the motives and weigh the actions of that proud heart. . . . Among 
the true friends of Poe in this city — and he had some such here — there 
are those, I am sure, that he did not class among villains; nor do they 
feel easy when they see their old friend dressed out, in his grave, in the 
habiliments of a scoundrel. There is something to them, in this mode 
of procedure on the part of the literary executor that does not chime in 
with their notion 'of the true point of honor.' 

This article is too long to quote in its entirety. It goes 
into business details proving that in all Poe's dealings with 
Graham he was punctiliously honorable, and it defends 
the moral character of Poe, disproving many of Griswold's 
charges. It contains so many details elsewhere discussed 
that I quote only the conclusion : 

They had all of them looked upon our departed friend as singu- 
larly indifferent to wealth for its own sake, but as very positive in his 
opinions that the scale of social merit was not of the highest; that 
mind, somehow, was apt to be left out of the estimate altogether ; and, 
partaking somewhat of his free way of thinking, his friends are 
startled to find they have entertained very unamiable convictions. As 
to his 'quick-choler' when he was contradicted, it depended a good 
deal on the party denying, as well as upon the subject discussed. He 
was quick, it is true, to perceive mere quacks in literature, and some- 
what apt to be hasty, when pestered by them ; but, upon most other 
questions his natural amiability was not easily disturbed. . . . His 
'astonishing natural advantages' had been very assiduously cultivated; 
his 'daring spirit' was the anointed genius; his self-confidence the 
proud conviction of both; and it was with something of a lofty scorn 
that he attacked, as well as repelled, the crammed scholar of an hour, 
who attempted to palm upon him the ill-digested learning. Literature 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 179 

with him was religion; and he, its high-priest, with a whip of scor- 
pions, scourged the moneychangers from the temple. In all else, he had 
the docility and kind-heartedness of a child. No man was more quickly 
touched by a kindness, none more prompt to return for an injury. For 
three or four years I knew him intimately, and for eighteen months 
saw him almost daily, much of the time writing or conversing at the 
same desk, knowing all his hopes, his fears, and little annoyances of 
life, as well as his high-hearted struggle with adverse fate; yet he was 
always the same polished gentleman, the quiet, unobtrusive, thought- 
ful scholar, the devoted husband, frugal in his personal expenses, 
punctual and unwearied in his industry, and the soul of honor in all his 
transactions. This, of course, was in his better days, and by them we 
judge the man. But even after his habits had changed, there was no 
literary man to whom I would more readily advance money for labor 
to be done. . . . His pen was regulated by the highest sense of duty. 
By a keen analysis he separated and studied each piece which the 
skillful mechanist had put together. No part, however insignificant, or 
apparently unimportant, escaped the rigid and patient scrutiny of his 
sagacious mind. 

The unfitted joint proved the bungler — the slightest blemish was a 
palpable fraud. He was the scrutinizing lapidary who detected and ex- 
posed the slightest fiaw in diamonds. The gem of first water shone the 
brighter for the truthful setting of his calm praise. He had the finest 
touch of soul for beauty — a delicate and hearty appreciation of worth. 
If his praise appeared tardy, it was of priceless value when given. It 
was true as well as sincere. It was the stroke of honor that at once 
knighted the receiver. It was in the world of mind that he was king; 
and, with fierce audacity, he felt and proclaimed himself autocrat. As 
critic he was despotic, supreme. Yet no man with more readiness 
would soften a harsh expression at the request of a friend, or if he him- 
self felt that he had infused too great a degree of bitterness into his 
article, none would more readily soften it down, after it was in type — 
though still maintaining the justness of his critical views. I do not be- 
lieve that he wrote to give pain ; but in combating what he conceived 
to be error, he used the strongest word that presented itself, even in 
conversation. He labored not so much to reform as to exterminate 
error, and thought the shortest process was to pull it up by the roots 

Though this open letter was published in "Graham's 
Magazine" immediately following Griswold's issue of the 
memoir, it has not been disseminated and has not had the 



180 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

publicity of Griswold's scurrilous article. It was not a part 
of the "Works" and did not circulate so extensively. Poe's 
biographers have not given it the publicity it deserves, 
and certain ones have only mentioned it generally, omit- 
ting all that reflects on Griswold and all that might serve 
as a defense of Poe. 

Lambert A. Wilmer, in a notable book published in 1859, 
named "Our Press Gang," a collection of editorial writings 
now a bibliographical rarity, defended Poe. Wilmer was 
editor of the "Saturday Visiter," of Baltimore, in which 
Poe won a prize with "Tales of the Folio Club." For many 
years afterward Poe and Wilmer were more or less friendly, 
and corresponded at irregular intervals. It was the 
"Quacks of Helicon," written by Wilmer, that Poe so 
ardently defended, and in a review of which he strongly 
upheld Wilmer's charges of literary corruption. 

While Wilmer's book was not written for the specific 
purpose of rehabilitating Poe, it does strongly corrobor- 
ate many of Poe's contentions, and justifies the stand Poe 
took toward many writers and much that they wrote. 

In speaking of a newspaper attack on the memory of 
Poe, Wilmer writes : 

Several years ago I published the following article in a Philadelphia 
weekly paper : 

'Edgar A. Poe and his Calumniators. — There is a spurious biog- 
raphy of Edgar A. Poe which has been extensively published in 
newspapers and magazines. It is a hypocritical, canting document, ex- 
pressing commiseration for the follies and 'crimes' of that 'poor out- 
cast ;' the writer being evidently just such an one as the Pharisee who 
thanked God that he was a better fellow than the publican. But we 
can tell the slanderous and malicious miscreant who composed the 
aforesaid biography, that Edgar Poe was not the man described by 
this anonymous scribbler. Some circumstances mentioned by the 
slanderous hypocrite we know to be false, and we have no doubt in the 
world that nearly all of his statements, intended to throw odium and 
discredit on the character of the deceased, are scandalous inventions. 

We have much more to say on this subject, and we pledge ourselves 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 181 

to show that the article we speak of is false and defamatory, when the 
skulking author of it becomes magnanimous enough to take the 
responsibility by fixing his name to his malignant publication.' I do 
not know that this vindication was copied by a single paper ; whereas 
the whole press of the country seemed desirous of giving circulation 
and authenticity to the slanders. 

Again, under the title "Defamation of the Dead," 
Wilmer refers to the newspaper attacks on the memory of 
Poe: 

The late Edgar A. Poe has been represented by the American news- 
papers in general as a reckless libertine and a confirmed inebriate. I 
do not recognize him by this description, though I was intimately 
acquainted with the man, and had every opportunity to study his 
character. I have been in company with him every day for many 
months together ; and, within a period of twelve years, I did not see 
him inebriated ; no, not in a single instance. I do not believe that he 
was ever habitually intemperate until he was made so by grief and 
many bitter disappointments. And, with respect to the charge of 
libertinism, I have similar testimony to offer. Of all men that I ever 
knew, he was the most passionless; and I appeal to his writings for 
confirmation of this report. Poets of ardent temperament, such as 
Anacreon, Ovid, Byron, and Tom Moore, will display their constitu- 
tional peculiarity in their literary compositions ; but Edgar Poe never 
wrote a line that gives expression to a libidinous thought. The female 
creations of his fancy are all either statues or angels. His conversation, 
at all times, was as chaste as that of a vestal, and his conduct, while I 
knew him, was correspondingly blameless. 

Poe, during his lifetime, was feared and hated by many newspaper 
editors and other literary animalcules, some of whom, or their friends, 
had been the subjects of his scorching critiques; and others disliked 
him, naturally enough, because he was a man of superior intellect. 
While he lived, these resentful gentlemen were discreetly silent, but 
they nursed their wrath to keep it warm, and the first intelligence of 
his death was the signal for a general onslaught. The primal slander 
against the deceased bard was published in a leading journal of Phila- 
delphia, the 'literary editor' of which [English] had formerly received 
not only a critical rebuke, but something like personal chastisement 
also, from the hands of the departed poet. 

Since that time, by continued and well directed efforts, the news- 
papers of our country have succeeded in giving Poe a character *as 



182 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

black as Vulcan's stithy,' and in this hideous drapery, woven by 
demoniac malice, the unrivalled poet of America is now presented to 
the world. 

It was the article published in the "Edinburgh Review," 
quoted by the editor of the "Ladies' Repository" that 
induced Mrs. Whitman to break her long silence. She 
took up the gauge of battle by publishing in 1860 her 
monograph on Poe — "Edgar Poe and His Critics," the first 
book entirely devoted to a study of his morals and to the 
rehabilitation of his name. It is an appreciation rather than 
a biography. 

In the preface Mrs. Whitman says: 

Dr. Griswold's Memoir of Edgar Poe has been extensively read and 
circulated; its perverted facts and baseless assumptions have been 
adopted into every subsequent memoir and notice of the poet, and 
have been translated into many languages. For ten years this great 
wrong to the dead has passed unchallenged and unrebuked. 

It has been assumed by a recent English critic that 'Edgar Poe had 
no friends.' As an index to a more equitable and intelligible theory of 
the idiosyncrasies of his life, and as an earnest protest against the 
spirit of Dr. Griswold's unjust memoir, these pages are submitted to 
his more candid readers and critics by One of his Friends. 

This was a confession not easy to make, for it was to 
Mrs. Whitman that Poe was engaged to be married while 
he was still a resident of Fordham ; and it was his reported 
actions with reference to breaking the engagement that 
Griswold so foully used in his attempt to blacken the 
character of Poe. 

Quoting from Griswold's Memoir: 

He said to an acquaintance in New York, who congratulated him 
upon the prospect of his union with a person of such genius and so 
many virtues, 'it is a mistake: 1 am not going to be married.' 'Why, 
Mr. Poe, I understand that the banns have been published.' 'I cannot 
help what you have heard, my dear Madam, but mark me, I will 
not marry her.' He left town the same evening and next day was 
reeling through the streets of the city which was the lady's home, and 
!n the evening — that should have been the evening before the bridal, 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 183 

in his drunkenness he committed such outrages as made it necessary 
to summon the police. Here was no insanity leading to indulgence: he 
went from New York with a determination thus to induce an ending 
of the engagement; and he succeeded. 

Even had this story been true, the use of so prominent a 
woman's name to point a tale was not a chivalrous act. Asa 
matter of fact the whole scene, so graphically painted, was 
a fabrication and the proof that it was not true was at 
once offered, but Griswold never retracted it. 

Mrs. Whitman did break her engagement with Poe be- 
cause she found he had not kept his promise of abstinence. 
He was not rude in her presence nor did he exhibit any 
abnormality except as she has described. It was she who 
broke the engagement in spite of Poe's protests and his 
promises of reform. 

Mrs. Whitman, in a letter to Gill, declared what already 
had been offered in evidence, that : 

No such scene as that described by Dr. Griswold ever took place in 
my presence. No one, certainly no woman who had the slightest ac- 
quaintance with Edgar Poe, could have credited the story for an 
instant. He was instinctively and essentially a gentleman, utterly 
incapable, even in moments of excitement and delirium, of such an 
outrage as Dr. Griswold has ascribed to him. 

She dismissed the Griswold allegations very briefly : 

It is not our purpose at present specially to review Dr. Griswold's 
numerous misrepresentations, and misstatements. Some of the more 
injurious of these anecdotes were disproved, during the life of Dr. 
Griswold, in the New York Tribune, and other leading journals, with- 
out eliciting from him any public statement in explanation or apology. 
Quite recently we have had, through the columns of the 'Home Jour- 
nal,' the refutation of another calumnious story, which for ten years 
has been going the rounds of the English and American periodicals. 

We have authority for stating that many of the disgraceful anec- 
dotes, so industriously collected by Dr. Griswold, are utterly fabulous, 
while others are perversions of the truth, more injurious in their 
effects than unmitigated fiction. We propose simply to point out some 
unformed critical estimates which have obtained currency among 



184 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

readers who have had but a partial acquaintance with Mr. Poe's more 
imaginative writings, and to record our own impressions of the char- 
acter and genius of the poet, as derived from personal observation and 
from the testimony of those who knew him. 

Mrs. Whitman was a woman of remarkable personality. 
John Hay (himself a marked example of a sane genius with 
depressive seizures) described the dominating influence she 
exerted over him while he was at Brown University. 

Mrs. Whitman, knowing her subject and dealing with 
so many phases of it that were personally embarrassing, 
treated the whole matter as only a woman of great refine- 
ment could. It is true that the picture she draws is colored 
by an overweening tenderness ; but one cannot too harshly 
criticize grief for a dead friend, and if tears of sorrow 
blind the eyes and mental reservations prevent over-full 
statements of matters essentially personal, can we wonder 
if the outline occasionally is blurred? She does not refer to 
her own close association with Poe, but describes, in a 
manner purely impersonal, not so much her admiration of 
Poe, the man, as her admiration for Poe, the man of letters. 

She describes, as only a woman can, what there was in 
Poe that so strongly appealed to the women with whom he 
associated. Apparently, the basis of that appeal was the 
complete deference and the chivalrous attitude which, 
even in thought, characterized Poe's treatment of women. 
Never in the whole course of his life, either in what he 
wrote or what he said, did he treat woman other than as 
the angel embodiment of man. In Mrs. Whitman's sketch 
is to be noted especially an absolute freedom from any 
touch of jealousy as she couples Poe's name with that of 
other women with which it had been associated : 

There is a quiet drawing room in Street, New York, — a sort 

of fragrant and delicious 'clovernook' in the heart of the noisy city — 
where hung some three years ago, the original painting from which this 
engraving [referring to the portrait accompanying Poe's first volume 
of collected works] is a copy. Happening to meet there at the time a 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 185 

company of authors and poets, among whom were Mary Forest, Alice 
and Phoebe Gary, the Stoddards, T. B. Aldrich and others, we heard 
one of the party say, in speaking of the portrait, that its aspect was 
that of a beautiful and desolate shrine from which the Genius had 
departed. . . . Near this luminous but impassive face, with its sad 
and soulless eyes, was a portrait of Poe's unrelenting biographist. 

In a recess opposite hung a picture of fascinating Mrs. , whose 

genius both had so fervently admired, and for whose coveted praise 
and friendship both had been competitors. Looking at the beautiful 
portrait of this lady — the face so full of enthusiasm, and dreamy 
tropical sunshine — remembering the eloquent words of her praise, as 
expressed in the prodigal and passionate exaggerations of her verse, 
one ceases to wonder at the rivalries and enmities enkindled in the 
hearts of those who admired her genius and her grace, — rivalries which 
the grave itself could not cancel or appease. 

Again she wrote : 

A woman of fine genius, who at this time made his acquaintance, 
says, in some recently published comments on his writings: 'It was in 
the brilliant circles that assembled in the winter of 1845-6 at the 
homes of Dr. Dewey, Miss Anna G. Lynch, Mr. Lawson, and others, 
that we first met Edgar Poe. His manners were at these reunions re- 
fined and pleasing, and his style and scope of conversation that of a 
gentleman and a scholar. Whatever may have been his previous career, 
there was nothing in his manner nor in his appearance to indicate 
excesses. He delighted in the society of superior women and had an 
exquisite perception of all the graces of manner, and shades of expres- 
sion. He was an admiring listener, and an unobtrusive observer. We 
all recollect the interest felt at the time in everything emanating from 
his pen — the relief it was from the dullness of ordinary writers — the 
certainty of something fresh and suggestive. His critiques were read 
with avidity; not that he convinced the judgment, but that people 
felt their ability and their courage. Right or wrong he was terribly in 
earnest.' 

Mrs. Whitman dissented from the frequently expressed 
view that Poe's own personality was infused into that of 
the characters which he often so vividly depicted in his 
weird tales and poems, but she did believe that his ab- 
normal mentality was directly responsible for the character 
of his creative work : 



186 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

His proud intellectual assumption of the supremacy of the individual 
soul was but an expression of his imperious longings for immortality 
and its recoil from the haunting phantasms of death and annihila- 
tion; while the theme of all his more imaginative writings is a love 
that survives the dissolution of the mortal body and oversweeps the 
grave. His mental and temperamental idiosyncracies fitted him to 
come readily into rapport with psychal and spiritual influences. Many 
of his strange narratives had a degree of truth in them which he was 
unwilling to avow. In one of this class he makes the narrator say, "I 
cannot even now regard these experiences as a dream, yet it is difficult 
for us now to say how otherwise they should be termed. Let us suppose 
only that the soul of man, today, is on the brink of stupendous psychal 
discoveries. ... He often spoke of the imageries and incidents of his 
inner life as more vivid and veritable than those of his outer exper- 
ience. We find in some pencilled notes appended to a manuscript copy 
of one of his later poems — Ligeia — the words 'all that I have here 
expressed were actually present to me. Remember the mental condi- 
tion which gave rise to Ligeia — recall the passage of which I spoke, 
and observe the coincidence!' With all the fine alchemy of his subtle 
intellect he sought to analyze the character and the conditions of this 
introverted life. 'I regard these visions,' he says, 'even as they arise, 
with an awe which in some measure moderates or tranquilizes the 
ecstasy — I so regard them through a conviction that this ecstasy, in 
itself, is of a character supernal to the human nature — is a glimpse of 
the spirits outer world.' . . . His mind indeed was a 'Haunted 
Palace,' echoing to the footfalls of angels and demons. 'No man,' 
he says, 'has recorded, no man has dared to record, the wonders of 
his inner life.' Is there then, no significance in this 'supernatural 
soliciting?' Is there no evidence of a wise purpose, an epochal fitness, 
in the appearance, at this precise era, of a mind so rarely gifted, and 
accessible from peculiarities of psychal and physical organization to 
the subtle vibrations of an ethereal medium conveying but feeble 
impressions to the senses of ordinary persons ? 

The peculiar character of his intellect seemed without a prototype 
in literature. He had more than De Quincey's power of analysis, with 
a constructive unity and completeness of which the great English 
essayist has given no indication. His pre-eminence in constructive and 
analytical skill was beginning to be universally admitted, and the 
fame and prestige of his genius were rapidly increasing. ... A 
recent and not too lenient critic tells us that 'it was his sensitiveness 
to artistic imperfections, rather than any malignity of feeling, that 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 187 

made his criticisms so severe, and procured him a host of enemies 
among persons towards whom he entertained no personal* ill-will.' 

Mrs. Whitman's final estimate is characteristic of the 
woman : 

We confess to a half faith in the old superstition of the significance 
of anagrams when we find, in the transposed letters of Edgar Poe's 
name, the words, a God-peer: words which, taken in connection with 
his daring speculations, seem to have in them a mocking and malign 
import which is not man's nor angel's. 

The book is filled with personal reminiscences and it 
contains many anecdotes showing Poe's lovable nature 
and the tender care he gave his wife. It barely touches on 
matters controversial, nor is there more than a sympa- 
thetic reference to his sins of commission. While she does 
not deny that Poe had occasional periods of intoxication, 
she draws a picture of his sufferings following these out- 
breaks that make us, who know the compulsory nature of 
these seizures, more keenly realize the bitter sorrow that 
followed and how fully he expiated thera: 

Poe's private letters to his friends offer abundant evidence that he 
was not insensible to the keenest pangs of remorse. Again and again 
did he say to the Demon that tracked his path 'Anathema Maran- 
atha* but again and again did it return to torture and subdue. He saw 
the handwriting on the wall but had no power to avert the impending 
doom. 

Apparently the writings of Poe made a strong appeal to 
the psychical beliefs that are said to have dominated 
Mrs. Whitman. She was a student of the occult and 
strongly believed in spirit manifestations. 

No subject of recent years has excited more interest 
among psychologists than this question of a "sixth sense." 
Although eminent names recently have been added to 
those who acknowledge definite belief in spiritualistic phe- 
nomena, no answer can be made that may be considered 
final; nor has any proof been adduced that this "sixth 



188 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

sense," which I believe does exist, is more of a phenomenon 
than the other five, except that only certain highly or- 
ganized "sensitives," or mediums, possess it and for this 
reason develop auto-hypnosis. 

Mrs. J. K. Barney, who was an intimate friend of Mrs. 
Whitman, and who was invited to meet Poe during one of 
his visits, gives this remarkable account of an incident that 
is worth recording : 

On one of his visits to Providence, Mrs. Whitman invited a number 
of literary people to her home that they might have the opportunity 
of seeing Poe and listening to his wonderful converse. The guests were 
assembled — all distinguished people — discussing books and the like. 
Poe and Mrs. Whitman sat across the room from each other. They 
were theorizing on the poetic principle. After a time the other voices 
ceased. All were drawn toward Poe, whose eyes were gleaming and 
whose utterance was most eloquent. His eyes were fixed on Mrs. Whit- 
man. After another time Poe stopped talking, keeping his eyes on 
Helen. Of a sudden the company perceived that Poe and Helen were 
greatly agitated. Simultaneously both rose from their chairs and 
walked toward the center of the room. Meeting he held her in his 
arms, kissed her ; they stood for a moment, then he led her to her seat. 
There was a dead silence through all this strange proceeding. 

Whether or not Poe so intended it, this was a marvelous 
exhibition of the mesmeric power he unconsciously exerted 
over the "sensitives" whom he so strongly influenced. 

For the decade following these publications few refer- 
ences to Poe or his work can be found. The Redfield edition 
continued as the authoritative Poe collection and until 
the year 1876 it was republished with the Griswold 
memoir still occupying its post of honor uncontradicted — 
even unquestioned. The few things written concerning 
Poe I have found most difficult to collect, not only because 
of the obscurity of the journals in which they were pub- 
lished, but especially for the reason that only incidental 
references were made either to him or to the things he 
wrote. Those who attempted the rehabilitation of Poe 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 189 

found it difficult to controvert the statements that had 
been so confidently made, and were at a loss to give an 
authoritative answer, even though it was known that 
personal animosity and a vindictive spirit had animated 
many statements contained in the Griswold memoir. 

In England James Hannay had attempted to stem the 
tide of public prejudice and had written several short 
biographical sketches, but he could not speak with author- 
ity. Later, John H. Ingram became a most active defender, 
but his statements were so strongly partisan that no 
credence was given them. However, these two writers did 
succeed in casting some doubt upon certain parts of the 
Griswold memoir and their defense encouraged others to 
make independent investigations. 

In the early 70's there was a Poe revival, partly caused 
by the many American and English biographies, but 
mainly due to Poe's increasing literary renown. There 
were many still living — a few, unfortunately, the posses- 
sors of senile memories — who insisted on recalling Poe as 
they remembered him. They had entertained an "angel 
unawares," and they believed this to be a good reason for 
recalling, thirty years later, all the facts of Poe's life, oc- 
casionally reinforced with their imagination. 

The most flagrant offender was the physician that cared 
for Poe at the time of his death, although he had many prolix 
confreres. 

Quotations have already been made f romSartain's ' 'Rem- 
iniscences" as to Poe's mental state during an attack of 
delirium. Among other interesting matters that Sartain re- 
lates was an interview between Griswold and English : 

Speaking of Poe recalls to me an amusing scene I witnessed in my 
office between two of the literary fraternity, Rufus W. Griswold and 
the well-known author of Ben Bolt [Thomas Dunn English.] The latter 
was chatting delightfully with me when in walked Griswold. I knew of 
course that they must be acquainted, and yet noticing that they acted 



190 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

like strangers I apologized for neglecting to introduce them and for 
assuming that they knew each other. 'Oh yes,' said one grimly, 
*we know one another.' So I saw there was bad blood between them. 
A cheerless talk ensued for a time, when a name was spoken by chance 
that had a magical effect. It was Poe, and they fraternized at once, 
giving it to him right and left, agreeing that he was a most unjust 
critic and a bad fellow in every way. The fact is Poe made himself 
enemies all around by the cutting severity of his criticisms. 

An episode that has received much attention was Poe's 
courtship of Mrs. Shelton. 

The underlying motive that induced Poe to renew his 
suit to Mrs. Shelton was not the revival of an old love, or 
such mental derangement as he exhibited in his pursuit of 
Mrs. Osgood and his ardent courtship of Mrs. Whitman. 
He recognized that his life work was finished — as he 
stated in one of his last letters to Mrs. Clemm "I have no 
desire to live since I have finished "Eureka." It was pro- 
bably a desperate attempt to find some harbor of refuge 
for his storm-tossed life, with possibly a renewal of his 
Stylus obsession. Even while he was arranging the details 
of this marriage he planned, in a letter written to Mrs. 
Clemm, that he would so place his future home as to be 
"near Annie." There is no foundation for the assertion 
made by Moran in his "Defense," that Mrs. Shelton was 
"his first love, his Annabel Lee^ 

Moran's statement was inspired by Mrs. Shelton, it 
was written at her request, and it was dedicated to her. 
This is the same Mrs. Shelton whom Poe, as a boy, was 
said to have loved, and to whom, under the name Susan 
Royster, he was engaged while still a resident of Rich- 
mond. In his later life, after the death of Virginia, they 
again met and their engagement was rumored. Mrs. 
Shelton was an "affluent" widow with such strong religious 
feeling that, during the time of Poe's courtship, she gave, 
as a reason for refusing to entertain him: "I told him I 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 191 

was on my way to church and that I allowed nothing to 
interfere with this duty." 

It seems there must have been some amatory passages 
between Poe and Mrs. Shelton for Poe wrote Mrs. Clemm : 
"I think she loves me more devotedly than any one I 
ever knew & I cannot help loving her in return." That 
he wished to make Mrs. Shelton believe he remembered 
her, and had always cherished her picture is evidenced 
by a letter he wrote Mrs. Clemm asking her to furnish 
certain suppositious proofs of this unforgotten love — the 
text of which he enclosed. 

Surely this was not an ardent courtship and if it was a 
continuation of the love-affair that is said to have burned 
so brightly twenty years before, it is evident that the 
flame had sunk to a feeble flicker. A little later it was 
completely extinguished ; for there were mutual recrimina- 
tions and demands strenuously made both by Poe and 
Mrs. Shelton that letters which had passed between them 
should be returned. Yet in her old age Mrs. Shelton 
treasured the memory of Poe, insisted that she was his 
ideal Annabel Lee, and that it was she who had inspired 
Poe to write : 

For the moon never beams without bringing me dreams 

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; 
And the stars never rise but I see the bright eyes 

Of the beautiful Annabel Lee; 
And so, all the night tide, I lie down by the side 
Of my darling, my darling, my life and my bride 

In her sepulchre there by the sea — 

In her tomb by the sounding sea. 

It is doubtful if Miss Royster could have inspired this 
poem; it is certain that the twenty-year-after Mrs. 
Shelton did not. Not only was she alive and still in the 
performance of her "religious duties," but before Annabel 



192 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

Lee was published she had threatened Poe with a law- 
suit for the return of her letters. 

Many other women have claimed this same distinction. 
They ignored Virginia. 

Mrs. Weiss writes concerning Mrs. Shelton : 

Mrs. Shelton during a few days absence of Poe at tlie country 
home of John Mackenzie, came to Duncan Lodge and appealed 
to Mrs. Mackenzie to influence Poe in returning her letters. I saw 
her on this occasion — a tall, rather masculine-looking woman, 
who drew her veil over her face as she passed us on the porch, 
though I caught a glimpse of large, shadowy, light blue eyes 
which must have once been handsome. 

Mrs. Susan A. Weiss, in 1907, published a book en- 
titled "Home Life of Poe," in which an intimate sketch of 
Poe's two last visits to Richmond is purported to be given. 
It is interesting because it contains details of the events 
that transpired immediately preceding Poe's death. 

From her own account Poe was on friendly terms with 
her, confided in her literary judgment, and discussed 
many personal matters relating to his plans. Evidently 
she was a keen observer and, anticipating Poe's fame and 
the curiosity that would be aroused regarding the facts of 
these Richmond visits, she gathered up many details and 
pigeon-holed them for future reference. The facts she 
relates are interesting, and the Richmond gossip of those 
days makes entertaining reading. Whether they are the 
reminiscences of one who has idealized Poe and who 
cannot distinguish fact from fiction, or whether she is 
one whose memory has become weakened and has vis- 
ualized these circumstances through the rheumy eyes of 
age, or whether, in her desire that her name descend to 
posterity linked with that of Poe, she has romanced with 
known facts, are questions difficult to answer. 

Authorities are not agreed as to the amount of faith 
one should place in these reminiscences; and it has been 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 193 

claimed that, as an imaginative writer, Mrs. Weiss ranks 
with Dr. Moran. 

Woodberry who, as a rule, accepted no statement for 
the text of his "Life of Poe" that did not appeal to his 
critical judgment, leaving all else for his "notes," accepts 
Mrs. Weiss as an authority, and bases the details of the 
concluding events of Poe's life on her statements. 

Whitty, another well-known Poe authority, who lives in 
Richmond and who is conversant with many statements 
that have never been published because of the possibility 
that they can be classed as unauthenticated gossip, does 
not give credence to all that is contained in Mrs. Weiss's 
book as a detailed and reliable account of Poe's life. 

Although I quote Mrs. Weiss I question the value of 
her testimony. She was a mute — an infirmity that rendered 
almost impossible some of the conversations and much 
of the personal intercourse so distinctly remembered and 
so accurately recorded in the "Home Life of Poe." 

The thing that made this revival notable was that no 
one seemed to remember anything to Poe's discredit. 
Time had erased all personal bitterness. There was one 
exception. Richard Henry Stoddard, who at least on one 
occasion had met Poe, published his "Personal Recollec- 
tions" that contained some interesting Poe matter. Later 
this was used as an introduction to Poe's Works as re- 
published by Widdleton. It contained no reiteration of the 
Griswold charges, yet it detailed unkind statements as to 
his personal recollection of Poe. He could not forget the 
one memorable occasion on which they met, even if it 
was that relation a door mat bears to the foot that stamps 
upon it. Possibly the most sensitive thing on earth is the 
pride of a young author as to his "Rejected Addresses." 

I tcnocked at the street-door, and was presently shown up to 
Poe's rooms on the second or third floor. He received me very 
kindly. I told my errand, and he promised that my Ode should be 



194 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

printed next week. I was struck with his poetic manner, and the 
elegance of his appearance. He was slight and pale, I saw, with 
large and luminous eyes, and was dressed in black. When I quitted 
the room I could not but see his wife, who was lying upon a bed, 
apparently asleep. She, too, was dressed in black, and was pale 
and wasted. 'Poor lady,' I thought, 'she is dying of consumption.' 
. . I bought the next number of the Broadway Journal, but my Ode 
was not in it. It was mentioned, however, somewhat in this style: 
'We decline to publish the "Ode on a Grecian Flute" unless we can 
be assured of its authenticity.' . . I made time to take another long 
walk to the office of the Broadway Journal, and asked again for 
Mr. Poe. . . He was sitting on a chair asleep, but the publisher 
awoke him. He was in a morose mood. 'Mr. Poe,' I said, 'I have 
called to assure you of the authenticity of the "Ode on a Grecian 
Flute." He gave me the lie direct, declared that I never wrote it, 
and threatened to chastise me unless I left him at once. . . I left 
him as he desired, and walked slowly home, 'chewing the cud of 
sweet and bitter fancies.' 

Evidently Stoddard found Poe in one of his "moods." 
Stoddard has been regarded, and has been quoted, as a 
Griswold supporter in this Poe controversy, and it is not 
in evidence that he ever publicly criticised the Griswold 
memoir; yet, by a strange circumstance, the "Edgar A. 
Poe Shrine," recently opened in Richmond and which has 
become the recipient of much valuable Poe material, is 
in possession of a letter written by Stoddard to Samuel 
Henshaw. J. H. Whitty, president of the "Shrine," allows 
me to quote concerning the Stoddard letter the following 
statement : "The 'Edgar A. Poe Shrine' has in its posession 
an autograph letter, dated September 24, 1872, written 
by Stoddard to Henshaw, in which Stoddard states that 
Griswold took no pains, in his Poe materials, to sift facts 
from fancies, and that Griswold neither could, nor did he 
attempt to weigh evidence as it concerned Poe." 

These published reminiscences were indicative of the pride 
America was beginning to take in the name of Poe, and of 
her desire publicly to honor Poe's memory. The culmination 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 195 

of this movement was the public monument erected over 
the remains of Poe at Baltimore in 1875. Later other evi- 
dences of the appreciation in which Poe was held were 
made manifest. Probably the greatest honor conferred was 
the Actor's Monument sculptured by Richard H. Park, 
for this was the first honor of a national, and not sectional, 
character. 

In the year 1877 William F. Gill published "The Life of 
Edgar Allan Poe." This was the first systematic attempt 
to controvert Griswold's statements and to rehabilitate 
Poe's character. In preparing this biography Gill consulted 
a few of Poe's old friends among whom was Mrs. Clemm. 
He also had access to original manuscripts and corres- 
pondence, but he admitted nothing unfavorable to Poe, or 
that in any way explained his abnormal mental state. 

Gill is not an artist, and must not be blamed because the 
resulting delineation has not the fidelity of a Hogarth 
or the strength of Rembrandt. At least, he did the best he 
could ; and he was the first biographer, after nearly thirty 
years of "consent," to attempt to gather the data and 
clearly to present the facts on which a biography of Poe 
should rest. That he was carried away by enthusiasm and 
a love for his subject was a temperamental fault and, in 
the circumstances, excusable. His life of Poe cannot be 
accepted either as critical or unbiased. 

Although Hannay's effort to rehabilitate Poe met with 
adverse criticism, and his statements, as against those of 
Griswold and Briggs, received slight credence, he con- 
tinued a faithful, though unadvised, defender of the poet. 
It should be noted, however, that he regarded Poe's unto- 
ward acts as the result of temporary mental disturbance 
rather than the consequence of a vicious life. 

Another Englishman, John H. Ingram, wrote many 
papers dealing with Poe and his traducers, and he prefixed a 
memoir to an edition of Poe's works in which he attempted 



196 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

to disprove many of Griswold's statements and to bring 
out much testimony that tended to establish not only the 
falsity of these statements but to entirely rehabilitate the 
good name of Poe. 

In 1880 Ingram published an amplification of his former 
studies : "Edgar Allan Poe: His Life, Letters and Opinions." 

This work remains a valuable contribution to the life of 
Poe because in it a critical study was attempted and, for 
the first time, many of Griswold's allegations were ques- 
tioned and certain of them were refuted. In his chapter on 
the "Biographies of Edgar Allan Poe," Ingram sharply 
criticised Didier, another Poe memorialist, for "forgetting 
in the hurry of publication, to acknowledge the chief 
source of his 'much fresh and interesting information.' " 

Ingram's memory proved equally treacherous in that 
he made no mention of Gill's "Life," although he discussed 
many of the same questions that Gill formerly had argued : 

In March 1850 was published, in the Southern Literary Messenger, 
what Griswold styles an 'Eulogium' on Poe, but what really was a 
still more dastardly attack on the dead man than the unsavory 'Lud- 
wig' article. It had evidently been written and printed in hot haste, 
and was so disgraceful and cowardly that the editorial proprietor of 
the magazine, Mr. John R. Thompson, deemed it necessary to append 
a short printed note, to the effect that had it not been inserted during 
his absence, and not been seen by him till too late to stop it, it should 
not have appeared in the Messenger. Who wrote this article? It is 
generally ascribed to Mr. J. M. Daniel ; yet, strange to say, it not only 
uses lengthy passages of 'Ludwig's' sketch without inverted commas, 
or other signs of quotation, but, when Griswold's long 'Memoir of 
Poe* appeared in the International Magazine, he also made use of long 
extracts from the 'Eulogium' without acknowledgment. Certainly 
he does refer to it as his authority for one of the blackest crimes he 
charges Poe with, and which he himself not unaptly styles unfit for 
'any register but that of hell.' Was not this miscalled 'defender' 
Griswold himself or some one acting under his inspiration? 

Thefewdelinquenciesof Poe that Ingram accepted as true 
were explained in a manner that does credit to Ingram's 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 197 

ingenuity, although they were not convincing answers. 
This partisanship was unfortunate. To abuse Griswold and 
to ignore the delinquencies with which Poe was charged 
was not a sufficient answer to serious accusations. Too 
much was known of Poe's eccentricities and of his alco- 
holic habits either to ignore them or pass them over with 
a simple denial. Concessions and explanations given by 
former biographers were judged by Ingram to have been 
unwisely made : 

The best known of these was the essay of Baudelaire, and it is chiefly 
remarkable as the attempt, by a man of genius, to explain Poe's char- 
acter as described by Griswold, by an ingenious theory of his own. Of 
course he failed in that, however valuable his essay otherwise may be 
and truly is. Next in importance to the French critic's characterization 
of Poe, is that of James Hannay. It is a charming and appreciative 
sketch, but having no biographical details other than Griswold's to 
go by, and being as instinctively attracted to Poe as Baudelaire, 
Hannay also started a theory as ingenious and as unsatisfactory as 
his to account for the poet's presumed misdeeds. 

Baudelaire's belief that alcohol and opium were the 
source of Poe's power of imagination and that from these he 
obtained his inspiration, was rejected. Nor did he agree 
that temporary mental states, suggested by Hannay and 
known to have afflicted so many men of genius with re- 
curring states of mental depression, was a satisfactory 
explanation. He regarded Poe as a maligned and misjudged 
man, and failed to recognize the nervous diathesis as the 
basis for certain of his vagaries. 

From a study of these fragmentary and biased biog- 
raphies it became evident that a new method of approach 
must be found in order to gain an intelligent understand- 
ing of Poe's life and character. The thing most necessary 
was a sifting of true statements from false as they related 
to Poe's neurosis, and a re-presentation of Poe facts as dis- 
tinguished from the Poe myth. As frequently happens. 



198 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

when the necessity arises a man can be found capable of 
accomplishing the required task. 

This work was assigned by Charles Dudley Warner, 
editor of the "American Men of Letters" series, to George 
E, Woodberry, at that time a young and unknown writer. 

Woodberry, that painstaking biographer on whom I 
have depended for many of my facts, did not select his 
subject, nor was he drawn to it by personal or literary in- 
clination ; his architect set him the task and, like a master 
carpenter, he builded as well as he knew. Selecting sound 
material where strength was needed, he often left knot- 
holes as peepsights, and made no effort to conceal or throw 
aside inferior and, occasionally, rotten material. Neither the 
situation nor the plan inspired him. 

I was asked by my friend, the late Charles Dudley Warner, in 
1 883, to write the life of Poe for the 'American Men of Letters Series,* 
which he was then editing. My attention had never been drawn to Poe, 
nor my interest specially excited by his works ; so that I entered upon 
my task, my first important literary commission, with a fresh mind; 
and, though contact with the subject may have bred prejudice, I had 
none at the outset. 

This from a literary man who proposed dispassionately 
to discuss and anatomize a genius, not as a surgeon would 
perform some merciful operation on a patient he loved, but 
as a vivisectionist would dissect some unfriended animal in 
order to demonstrate the circulation of the blood, and 
would run his scalpel into all the heart's compartments, 
and play with its fibers ! No pity, no love, swayed the hand ; 
only the deliberate purpose to demonstrate a fact, however 
cruelly the knife hurt, however wildly the heart palpitated. 

To write a popular biography one must love one's sub- 
ject. Had not Boswell loved, as well as revered, his John- 
son, how easily could he have dwelt on the foibles, the 
vanities, the contradictions, and the absurdities which 
invariably are a part of the lives of the wisest and sanest, 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 199 

and which, in the case of Johnson, were specially conspic- 
uous — and have spoiled his biography. 

Woodberry's statement, "contact with the subject may 
have bred prejudice," is explained by the fact that this 
early study led to his later association with the Poe MSS., 
that Griswold had "assumed." Woodberry had been 
asked to edit these papers and, later, had edited the Poe- 
Chivers correspondence. 

In this publication Woodberry made a dispassionate and 
careful study of all the known facts of Poe's life, and an 
intelligent effort to elucidate the many obscure points that 
had been controversial, or that were unknown. Much new 
information was furnished, and Woodberry believed that 
he discovered passages in Poe's life which further research 
may, or may not, uphold. 

In his preface Woodberry discussed the difficulties under 
which he had labored because of the many conflicting 
statements and the diverse opinions still held, and he gave 
the data on which he relied for his estimate : 

The statements of fact in these sources are extremely conflicting, 
doubtful, and contested; and in view of this, as well as of the spirit of 
rancor excited in any discussion of Poe's character, the author has 
made this, so far as was possible, a documentary biography, has 
verified all facts positively stated at first hand, and has felt obliged to 
assign the authority followed, in any questionable assertions, in foot 
notes. . . . Notwithstanding the amount of printed matter regarding 
Poe, his life has not been exhaustively treated. The larger portion of 
the following pages consists of wholly new information, or of old state- 
ments so radically corrected as to become new. 

Woodberry called his work a "Documentary Life," 
as it was founded on contemporary evidence usually of a 
documentary nature. He does not overstate its value as a 
study. Nothing better has been offered and while, in my 
judgment, it is deficient because of a failure to understand 
and exhibit the underlying neurosis on which many of 
Poe's erratic acts were based, at least these were not mag- 



200 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

nified. Possibly it was not to be expected that Woodberry 
either could fully comprehend, or scientifically explain the 
underlying compulsions that were the basis of these actions. 

Woodberry later revised and amplified this documen- 
tary statement, converting it into a biography in which he 
included a comprehensive study of Poe's writings, and set 
forth his own conception of Poe's personality. 

The "Documentary Biography," as a source of reference 
has been overshadowed by this more recent and greatly 
amplified "Literary Biography," with which Woodberry 's 
name is now so definitely associated. This is regrettable 
because, while the first study made no pretense of being 
other than a compilation and a special research into the 
facts of Poe's life and attempted no personal estimate, the 
later work not only discussed all Poe wrote, but undertook 
to make a character study that would elucidate Poe's 
personal equation. Although this is our most authoritative 
biography and does possess much of both literary and bio- 
graphical interest, it is deficient in certain qualities that 
I believe are necessary for a correct delineation of Poe's 
puzzling and ill-understood personality. 

Through these years information naturally came to me, also, from 
other sources, though I have never engaged in personal investigation 
since writing the former biography ... I have aimed also to present 
in the text the facts of Poe's career as they lie in my own mind, in the 
notes I have allowed others to speak freely, for praise or dispraise, in 
order that all may have a fair field where there is so great a contro- 
versy. In the former biography I excluded much and suppressed much 
of what I thought the world would willingly let die; but this proved a 
fruitless attempt to assist oblivion, and I have, in the present work, at 
least noticed all that had been said or alleged on this subject. 

Woodberry further explained his reason for writing this 
second biography: "I have aimed to make this a literary 
biography ; as such it has two special interests, in that it is 
a life led outside New England, and that it embodies much 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 201 

contemporaneous literary history not involved in any 
life of our great writers." 

Although this "Literary Biography "of Woodberry pos- 
sessed many admirable features, it failed because in his 
"Creation" there was a malformation of an important 
vital organ. Like Frankenstein who attempted to create 
a man perfect in symmetry, marvelously articulated with 
every muscle, nerve and organ properly placed, and 
with a mind so keen in its perceptions, and endowed 
with such intelligence that it was able to circumvent, and, 
in time, to overwhelm its creator, so does Woodberry re- 
construct a Poe who possesses a brain that functioned 
normally with a mental capacity unequalled by any of 
his contemporaries ; yet somewhere there was a fatal flaw, 
for none of the generous impulses and humanitarian qual- 
ities animated it. This Poe construction fails in recalling 
to us a human possessing amiable traits and considera- 
tion for those around him. It may be asked, as it was in 
the discussion of Griswold's "Memoir," if there could be 
found "no cheeriness in the boy — no casual acts of kindness 
— ^no adhesion to old friendships — no sympathy with the 
poor and unhappy?" 

Woodberry's delineation is that of a cold, misanthropic, 
and lonely individual influenced by none of the human 
passions, warmed by none of the genial qualities neces- 
sary for friendly associations, swayed by none of the 
finer impulses or human attributes that differentiate us 
from the lower creations — an intellectual being that lacks 
a "heart." Poe, the man, is ignored. It is only Poe, the 
writer, that is described. Although admiration is ex- 
pressed for Poe's literary genius, and the things he wrote 
are fully discussed, nowhere and in no way does Wood- 
berry exhibit any sympathy with his subject, or show any 
understanding either of Poe's abnormal state or of the 
''quid pro quo' literary world by which he was surrounded, 



202 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

so different from the Holmes-Bryant-Longfellow coterie 
that dominated New England thought and habit. This 
was well organized and no unharmonious voice could 
disturb the mutual admiration and complacent toleration. 
Each, in his way, possessed many excellencies that in no 
way interferred with the honors bestowed upon others: 
rather this very solidarity tended to uphold each indi- 
vidual's claim, whether or not he quite attained to the 
Heights. No wonder that Poe's raucous voice breaking 
into this harmonious diapason of self-glorification, at- 
tacking their literary high-priest, was bitterly resented 
and was explained by their chief "organ of expression," 
"The Harbinger," — edited by the "Brook-Farm Phalanx" 
as Poe's method of seeking : 

Notoriety, through a certain blackguard warfare which he has 
been waging against the poets and newspaper critics of New England, 
and which it would have been more charitable to impute to insanity. 

As Woodberry suggests, Poe "led a life outside New 
England," and for this reason was a rara avis worthy of 
study. Had he been thus environed Woodberry would 
have been, temperamentally, better fitted to have under- 
stood him. His sympathetic treatment of Hawthorne 
required no special effort because the qualities delineated 
were a part both of the subject and of his biographer and 
their expression was but an exhibition of literary skill; 
however, transfiguration of the frigid personality of Emer- 
son into the semblance of an emotional, considerate and 
real human being makes it certain that had Poe remained 
in Boston and had he become acclimated to the ozone of 
its literary atmosphere, even the Boston critics would have 
applauded ; and Woodberry would have given him more 
sympathetic consideration in his sickness and destitution. 
In spite of this one defect, Woodberry 's "Life of Poe" re- 
mains the best guide and fairest commentary on the facts 
of Poe's life and he is to be especially commended because 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 203 

of the great service he has rendered Poe in disproving 
many of Griswold's false statements, even though he 
failed to appreciate the Evil that was a part of Poe; or 
because of this inheritance, to excuse Poe's misdeeds. 
After all this is a matter of individual opinion and each 
biographer must view this subject from his own mental 
horizon. Woodberry's own expectation and ambition 
have been realized : "Whatever shall be the fortune of this 
work, I am amply rewarded by the conviction that I 
have, at least, made the way easier for that ideal bio- 
grapher who, when he comes, shall be perfect in good- 
sense, good-will, and discretion." 

Since Woodberry's exhaustive study, little can be added 
to the known facts of Poe's life. The controversial matters 
necessarily give wide range for speculation, but it is not 
probable that much more of material importance will be 
discovered. 

The last biographer that will be discussed is Professor 
James A. Harrison of the University of Virginia. Imbued 
with the love of his subject, and swayed because of per- 
sonal association and great sympathy, his biography gives 
ample appreciation of all that could magnify the accom- 
plishments and lend glory to his idol ; and that associates 
with his beloved State of Virginia, and her Queen City, 
Richmond, the name of her greatest writer. 'The Vir- 
ginia Poe" was well named, even if Poe was born in 
Boston. 

If Woodberry was lacking in heart, Harrison is over- 
burdened with it. This hypertrophy renders the biog- 
raphy, as a biography, worthless so far as real facts and 
their proper relations are concerned. Harrison has not 
properly estimated the values that should be attached to 
the controversial life of Poe, nor does he appreciate the 
abnormal and darker side of Poe's life as dominated by 
an over-ruling neurosis. In comparison with Woodberry's 



204 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

Life it also errs in prolixity, lack of systematization, and 
clearness of expression. There is no serious attempt made 
to clear up the Griswold charges, and Harrison's state- 
ments ignore many phases of Poe's life that even the most 
lenient of biographers should not have entirely over- 
looked. These cannot be minimized except by a full ex- 
planation of the condition underlying them. 

Ancestral details have been lacking. All biographers 
having been satisfied to mention the eminent General Poe, 
and respectfully refer to the legend of Admiral McBride. 
Certain phases of Poe's life and ancestry are unduly 
dwelled upon by both Harrison and other of the earlier 
biographers. It is not an essential matter to the under- 
standing of Poe to know whether his ancestors were 
"Normans, who came over with William, the Con- 
queror," or came from Scandinavia; whether the name 
was originally spelled de la Poer, de la Poe, le Poer, 
Power, or Poe; whether they "happened" in Ireland be- 
cause "Sir Roger Le Poer went to Ireland, as marshal to 
Prince John, in the reign of Henry 11" ; nor yet does the 
fact that in Poe's veins flowed the blood of "James 
McBride, Admiral of the Blue," in any way explain Poe's 
heritage of genius. 

Nothing definite is known of the ancestry of Mrs. Poe. 
Apparently she contributed her full share to the personal 
characteristics and mental qualities of her son. As far as 
the father is concerned, the little we know about him 
does not justify our tracing any of the son's genius, or those 
good qualities we know Edgar Poe possessed, to the pa- 
ternal parent. Yet, for some reason the paternal branch 
of the family has been widely and fantastically exploited. 

Nor can Ingram's insinuation: "he [Poe] was in some 
way related to his godfather, who had, therefore, every 
cause to compassionate the little orphan's condition," 
based on no documentary or other authoritative evidence, 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 205 

be true; for the "bottle" derivation, as an inherited in- 
cubus, is too evident. 

Griswold must be held responsible for yet another 
offense against the name of Poe. He was the first biog- 
rapher to append the full name "Allan" as a part of the 
Poe signature. This custom may be in accordance with the 
American fashion of so designating all who have attained 
distinction, whether by self-adoption or by their con- 
temporaries acclamation. At no time and under no cir- 
cumstances did Poe sign his name other than "Edgar A. 
Poe," except on a single formal occasion, nor was he so 
addressed by any of his associates. Willis, Lowell, Graham, 
Mrs. Whitman and other of his contemporaries did not so 
designate him. Neither by reason of adoption, or of 
treatment received at the hands of the Allan family dur- 
ing his life and since his death, is it justifiable to associate 
this name with that of Poe. 

Another matter that deserves reprehension is the atti- 
tude to Poe held by many publishers, both regarding 
the illustrations used to reproduce his conceptions, and 
especially as to the pictures they insert of Poe. 

Usually Poe is represented with glassy, staring eyes as 
if he were hallucinating some horrible vision conjured up 
by his disordered brain: with his trembling frame sur- 
mounted either by a raven or a black cat he cowers in 
some grotesque attitude gripped by horrible fear ; or, as in 
the picture etched by the Frenchman, Manet, now a 
popular reproduction of Poe's characteristic features, he 
is caricatured emerging from a fit of delirium with hol- 
low cheeks, uprolled eyes, and fatuous, trembling lips, 
muttering some senseless gibberish or whispering to some 
unseen demon — possibly visualizing Lauvriere's descrip- 
tion: "a Poe prematurely aged and debilitated, whose 
haggard countenance is stamped by the imminence of 
insanity." 



206 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

The portrait of Poe, which serves as a frontispiece, is 
indicative of a face matured by thought and sobered by 
the struggles and the unhappy contact with that abnormal 
phase of life which was the ill-fortune of Poe. As such I 
have selected it as an ideal representation of the man, 
neither grotesquely caricatured nor unduly idealized. 

Sartain, as an artist, could speak with authority as to 
Poe's facial characteristics, and his pronouncement bears 
out the judgment of other associates and friends : 

Poe's face was handsome. Although his forehead when seen in 
profile showed a receding line from the brow up, viewed from the front 
it presented a broad and noble expanse, very large at and above the 
temples. His lips were thin and very delicately modelled. 

I am not the first one to protest these "horrors" as 
representing the actual features of Poe. Among his good 
friends in Philadelphia probably the one he was most in- 
timate with was Thomas Cottrell Clarke, proprietor of 
the "Saturday Evening Post," who not only employed 
Poe on his own publications but associated himself with 
Poe in the proposed issue of the "Stylus." He makes the 
following comment : 

During his engagement in my office I published a life of Mr. 
Poe, with a portrait from a daguerreotype. Both the life and the 
portrait are utterly unlike the gross caricatures manufactured 
since his death; . . . the portrait prefixed to a recent volume of 
Poe's poems bears no resemblance to the fine intellectual head 
of Poe. Why are such wrongs perpetuated upon the dead ? why 
are they permitted ? 

The Poe reproduction prefacing this section is from a 
miniature that was in the possession of Rosalie Poe. As 
such it is probably as correct a likeness as now exists. 

The grotesque and repulsive characterization of many 
of Poe's conceptions such as Berenice, Ligeia and Elea- 
nora, that certain artists adopt when they attempt to 
illustrate Poe's tales and Poems, are strongly reminiscent 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 207 

of that "quagmire phosphorescence" through which cer- 
tain commentators have envisaged some of Poe's finest 
work, and which they have denominated "Germanic 
Horrors." Poe's own explanation of these "horrors" has 
never received due consideration: "If in many of my 
productions terror has been the thesis, I maintain that 
terror is not of Germany but of the soul — that I have de- 
duced this terror only from its legitimate sources, and 
urged it only to its legitimate results." 




TO MY MOTHER 



Because I feel that, in the Heavens above, 

The angeLs, whispering to one another. 
Can find, among their biirning terms of love. 

None so devotional as that of " Mother," 
Therefore by that dear name I long have called you — 

You who are more than mother unto me. 
And fill my heart of hearts, where Death installed you 

In setting my Virginia's spirit free. 
My mother — my own mother, who died early, 

Was but the mother of myself ; but you 
Are mother to the one I loved so dearly, 

And thus are dearer than the mother I knew 
By that infinity with which my wife 

Was dearer to my soul than its soul-life. 



Section III. Poe's Friend. 

I can not close this study without some reference to 
Poe, the man. I, too, should have wished to write his 
name in capitals. No figure in all literary history has 
appealed more strongly to me by reason of his misunder- 
stood personality and because of malignant representation. 

Unfortunately, it happens that this monograph deals 
only with the darker side of Poe's life. I have thus far 
related only what occurred during periods of irresponsi- 
bility. I have not attempted to give an account of his life 
further than this requirement demanded. 

Poe was essentially domestic. He took pleasure only in 
his small family circle and, in the hour in which he was 
overcome by his evil inheritance, it was his harbor of 
refuge. The real love of his life was given to Mrs. Clemm, 
his "Dear Muddy." She was the mother of the wife whom 
he cherished and nursed, and she is the mother-figure that 
so heroically stands forth as the defender of his home 
and the preserver of his very life — the hard-working, de- 
voted and ever faithful mother. Our earliest record shows 
that Poe had an intense longing for this mother-love. 
Apparently he found in Mrs. Clemm all the consideration 
and consolation for which he longed, and of which the un- 
timely death of his own mother had deprived him ; a love 
that was an absolute necessity for one of his abnormal 
psychology. 

Her lineaments show a face characterized by gentleness 
and placidity, yet remarkable for nobility of outline. Her 
eyes appear penetratingly gentle and kind ; her letters be- 
speak much mental strength and womanly tenderness, 
while her whole life was one of such devotion to her two 



210 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

sick and doomed children as to justify the tributes that 
her own friends, as well as allof Poe's biographers, paid her. 
Willis says : 

Winter after winter, for years, the most touching sight to us, in 
this whole city, has been that tireless minister to genius, thinly and in- 
sufficiently clad, going from office to office, with a poem, or an article, 
on some literary subject, to sell — sometimes simply pleading in a 
broken voice that he was ill, and begging for him — mentioning nothing 
but 'that he was ill,' whatever might be the reason for his writing 
nothing ; and never, amid all her tears and recitals of distress suffering 
one syllable to escape her lips that could convey a doubt of him, or 
a complaint, or a lessening of pride in his genius and good intentions. 
Her daughter died, a year and a half since, but she did not desert 
him. She continued his ministering angel, — living with him, caring for 
him, guarding him against exposure, and, when he was carried away 
by temptation, amid grief and the loneliness of feeling unreplied to, 
and awoke from his self-abandonment prostrated in destitution and 
suffering, begging for him still. 

If woman's devotion, born with a first love, and fed with human 
passion, hallow its object, as it is allowed to do, what does not a devo- 
tion like this — pure, disinterested, and holy as the watch of an invis- 
ible spirit — say for him who inspired it? 

Mrs. Clemm, in a letter written to Mrs. Whitman just 
after Poe's departure from Fordham, on his last trip to 
Richmond, throws further light on the relations existing 
between them : 

Eddy has been gone ten days, and I have not heard one word from 
him. Do you wonder that I am distracted? I fear everything. . . , Oh, 
if any evil has befallen him, what can comfort me? The day after he 
left New York, I left Mrs. Lewis and started for home. I called on a rich 
friend who had made many promises, but never knew our situation. I 
frankly told her. She proposed to me to leave Eddy, saying he might 
very well do for himself. . . . Any one to propose to me to leave my 
Eddy — what a cruel insult ! No one to console and comfort him but 
me ; no one to nurse him and take care of him when he is sick and help- 
less! Can I ever forget that dear sweet face, so tranquil, so pale, and 
those dear eyes looking at me so sadly, while she said, 'Darling, 
Muddy, you will console and take care of my poor Eddy — you will 
never, never leave him? Promise me, my dear Muddy, and then I can 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 211 

die in peace.* And / did promise. And when I meet her in heaven, I can 
say, *I have kept my promise, my darling.' 

Surely she did keep it, and wherever Aidenn may be, 
there will these three be found — together. 

For this sacrificing and faithful woman all who knew her 
had only words of love and praise — save only one, the 
Preacher, who wrote to Mrs. Whitman : 

I cannot refrain from begging you to be very careful what you say 
or write to Mrs. Clemm, who is not your friend, nor anybody's friend, 
and who has no element of goodness or kindness in her nature, but 
whose heart and understanding are full of malice and wickedness. I 
confide in you these sentences for your own sake only, for Mrs. C. ap- 
pears to be a very warm friend to me. Pray destroy this note, and at 
least act cautiously, till I may justify it in a conversation with you. 

I am yours very sincerely, 

Rufus W. Griswold. 

At one time she had extorted admiration even from 
Griswold, who paid her this tribute : 

When once he sent for me to visit him, during a period of illness 
caused by protracted and anxious watching at the side of his sick wife, 
I was impressed by the singular neatness and the air of refinement in 
his home. It was in a small house, in one of the pleasant and silent 
neighborhoods far from the center of the town, and though slightly 
and cheaply furnished everything in it was so tasteful and so fitly dis- 
posed that it seemed altogether suitable for a man of genius. For this 
and for most of the comforts he enjoyed, in his brightest as in his 
darkest years, he was chiefly indebted to his mother-in-law, who loved 
him with the more than maternal devotion and constancy. 

In the end, a man will be judged by his home relations 
and his everyday home life, rather than by the armor in 
which he encases himself for the fight in his "Battle of 
Life." It occasionally happens that the polished exterior 
that we present to the world and the immaculate habili- 
ments in which we exhibit ourselves conceal a gnawing 
cancer which destroys the very vitals and uproots all fam- 
ily happiness. In his solitary life Poe apparently shut out 



212 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

the world from his fireside, yet we have the testimony of 
occasional visitors as to the charm of his home life : 

On this occasion I was introduced to the young wife of the poet, 
and to the mother, then more than sixty years of age. She was a tall, 
dignified old lady, with most ladylike manners, and her black dress, 
though old and much worn, looked really elegant on her. She wore a 
widow's cap, of the genuine pattern, and it suited exquisitely with her 
snow-white hair. Her features were large, and corresponded with her 
stature, and it seemed strange how such a stalwart and queenly 
woman could be the mother of her petite daughter. Mrs. Poe looked 
very young ; she had large black eyes, and a pearly whiteness of skin 
which was a perfect pallor. Her pale face, her brilliant eyes, and her 
raven hair gave her an unearthly look. One felt that she was almost a 
disrobed spirit, and when she coughed it was made certain that she 
was passing away. The mother seemed hale and strong, and appeared 
to be almost a sort of universal Providence to her strange children. 

The cottage had an air of gentility and taste that must have been 
lent it by the presence of its inmates. So neat, so poor, so unfurnished 
and yet so charming a dwelling I never saw. The floor of the kitchen 
was white as wheaten flour. A table, a chair, and a little stove that it 
contained seemed to furnish it completely. The sitting-room floor was 
laid with check matting ; four chairs, a light stand, and a hanging book 
shelf completed the furniture. There were pretty presentation copies 
of books on the little shelves, and the Brownings had posts of honor on 
the stand. With quiet exultation Poe drew from his side-pocket a 
letter he had recently received from Elizabeth Barret Browning. He 
read it to us. 

Again Mrs. Clemm writes : 

I always sat up with him when he was writing, and gave him a cup 
of hot coffee every hour or two. At home he was simple and affection- 
ate as a child, and during all the years he lived with me I do not 
remember a single night that he failed to come and kiss his 'Mother,' 
before going to bed. 

Willis thus judges him in the memoir he published in the 
first volume of Poe's works : 

Some four or five years since, when editing a daily paper in this 
City, Mr. Poe was employed by us, for several months, as critic and 
sub-editor. This was our first personal acquaintance with him. He 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 213 

resided with his wife and mother at Fordham, a few miles out of town, 
but was at his desk in the office, from nine in the morning till the 
evening paper went to press. With the highest admiration for his 
genius, and a willingness to let it atone for more than ordinary irregu- 
larity, we were led by common report to expect a very capricious 
attention to his duties, and occasionally a scene of violence and dif- 
ficulty. Time went on, however, and he was invariably punctual and 
industrious. With his pale, beautiful and intellectual face, as a re- 
minder of what genius was in him, it was impossible, of course, not to 
treat him always with deferential courtesy, and, to our occasional 
request that he would not probe too deep into a criticism, or that he 
would erase a passage colored too highly with his resentments against 
society or mankind, he readily and courteously assented — far more 
yielding than most men, we thought, on points so excusably sensitive. 
With the prospect of taking the lead in another periodical, he, at 
last, voluntarily gave up his employment with us, and, through all 
this considerable period, we had seen none but one presentment of the 
man — a quiet, patient, industrious, and most gentlemanly person, 
commanding the utmost respect and good feeling by his unvarying 
deportment and ability. 

Woodberry quotes Willis as to his association with Poe : 

He frequently called on us afterwards at our place of business, and 
we met him often in the street, — invariably the same sad-mannered, 
winning, and refined gentleman such as we had always known him, 
and found in his business letters — friendly notes — sufficient evidence 
of the very qualities denied to Mr. Poe, — humility, willingness to per- 
severe, belief in another's kindness, and capability of cordial and 
grateful friendship! Such he assuredly was when sane. Such only 
he has invariably seemed to us, in all we personally know of him, 
through a friendship of five or six years. And so much easier is it to 
believe what we have seen and known, than what we hear o/only, that 
we remember him but with admiration and respect. 

Another associate, even more competent to judge Poe, 
was Graham. He thus relates his own experience : 

I shall never forget how solicitous of the happiness of his wife and 
mother-in-law he was whilst one of the editors of 'Graham's Maga- 
zine' ; his whole effort seemed to be to procure the comfort and welfare 
of his home. Except for their happiness, and the natural ambition of 
having a magazine of his own, I never heard him deplore the want of 



214 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

wealth. The truth is, he cared little for money, and knew less of its 
value, for he seemed to have no personal expenses. What he received 
from me, in regular monthly installments, went directly into the 
hands of his mother-in-law for family comforts, and twice only I re- 
member his purchasing some rather expensive luxuries for his house, 
and then he was nervous to the degree of misery until he had, by 
extra articles, covered what he considered an imprudent indebtedness. 
His love for his wife was a sort of rapturous worship of the spirit of 
beauty which he felt was fading before his eyes. I have seen him hov- 
ering around her when she was ill, with all the fond fear and the tender 
anxiety of a mother for her first-bom, her slightest cough causing in 
him a shudder, a heart-chill that was visible. I rode out, one summer 
evening with them, and the remembrance of his watchful eyes eagerly 
bent on the slightest change of hue in that loved face haunts me 
yet as the memory of a sad strain. It was the hourly anticipation of 
her loss that made him a sad and thoughtful man, and lent a mourn- 
ful melody to his undying song. 

There was a well-known "bibliopole" who was a fellow 
guest with Poe for several months during his first residence 
in New York. His name was Gowans, noted for his acquisi- 
tive book collecting — a "Ballinger" who bought but never 
sold. 

Harrison quotes him as follows : 

For eight months or more one house contained us, as one table 
fed.' During this time I saw much of him and had an opportunity of 
conversing with him often, and I must say that I never saw him the 
least affected by liquor, nor even descend to any known vice, while he 
was one of the most courteous, gentlemanly and intelligent com- 
panions I have met with during my joumeyings and baitings through 
divers divisions of the globe. 

Captain Mayne Reid is another writer who came to the 
defense of Poe. In "Onward" for April, 1869, appeared 
his article: "A Dead Man Defended," and he thus de- 
scribes the intimate family life of the Poes : 

Poe I have known for a whole month closeted in his house 
all the time hard at work with his pen, poorly paid, and hard 
driven to keep the wolf from his slightly fastened door; intruded 
on only by a few select friends, who always found him, what they 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 215 

knew him to be, a generous host, an affectionate son-in-law and 
husband, — in short a respectable gentleman. ... In the list of 
literary men there has been no such spiteful biographer as Rufus 
Griswold, and never such a victim of posthumous spite as poor 
Edgar Poe. . . . [Mrs. Poe was] a lady angelically beautiful in 
person, and not less beautiful in spirit. No one who remembers 
that dark-eyed, dark-haired daughter of Virginia, — her own 
name, — her grace, her facial beauty, her demeanor so modest as 
to be remarkable; no one who has ever spent an hour in her 
company, but will endorse what I have said. I remember how 
we, the friends of the poet, used to talk of her high qualities, and 
when we talked of her beauty, I well knew that the rose-tint upon 
her cheek was too bright, too pure, to be of the earth. . . . Besides 
the poet and his interesting wife, there was another dweller. 
It (sic) was a woman of middle age and almost masculine aspect. 
She had the size and figure of a man, with a countenance that, at 
first sight, seemed scarce feminine. A stranger would have been 
incredulous, surprised, as I was, when introduced to her as the 
mother of that angelic creature who had accepted Edgar Poe as 
the partner of her life. She was the ever vigilant guardian of the 
house, watching it against the ever silent but continuous sap of 
necessity, that appeared every day to be approaching closer and 
nearer. She was the sole servant, keeping everything clean; the 
sole messenger, doing the errands, making pilgrimages between 
the poet and the publishers, frequently bringing back such chilling 
responses as 'the article not accepted' or 'the cheque not to be 
given until such and such a date' — often too late for his neces- 
sities. 

In the "Hearth and Home" for 1870, Amanda B.Harris, 
a friend of the Poe family, wrote : 

It was one of the saddest things in his sad history that the two 
dearest to him were sharers of his hardships and sufferings — his 
beautiful young wife and her devoted mother. He married his 
cousin, who was brought up in the South, and was as unused to 
toil as she was unfit for it. She hardly looked more than fourteen, 
fair, soft, graceful and girlish. Every one who saw her was won by 
her. Poe was very proud and very fond of her, and used to delight 
in the round, childlike face and plump little figure, which he con- 
trasted with himself, so thin and half melancholy looking, and 



216 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

she in turn idolized him. She had a voice of wonderful sweetness, 
and was an exquisite singer, and in their more prosperous days, 
when they were living in a pretty rose-covered cottage on the 
outskirts of Philadelphia, she had her harp and piano. ... It 
was during this time that Mrs. Poe, while singing one evening, 
ruptured a blood-vessel and after that she suffered a hundred 
deaths. She could not bear the slightest exposure, and needed 
the utmost care; and all those conveniences as to apartment and 
surroundings which are so important in the case of an invalid, 
were almost matters of life and death to her. And yet the room 
where she lay for weeks, hardly able to breathe, except as she 
was fanned, was a little place with the ceiling so low over the 
narrow bed that her head almost touched it. But no one dared 
to speak, Mr. Poe was so sensitive and irritable; 'quick as steel 
and flint,* said one who knew him in those days. And he would 
not allow a word about the danger of her dying, the mention of 
it drove him wild. ... So they lived, bound together in tender 
bonds of love and sorrow, — their love making their lot more 
tolerable — the three clinging to each other; and the mother was 
the good angel who strove to shield the poet and to save him. 
This way their lives went on in those dark days; he trying des- 
perately at times to earn money, writing a little, and fitfully 
fighting against himself, sustained only by their solace and 
sympathy, and by the helping hand of the self-sacrificing mother, 
who loved him as if he had been, indeed, her own son. 

Mr. S. D. Lewis, a New York lawyer, the husband of 
Sarah Ann Lewis, gave the following testimony : 

And now, as to Mr. Poe, he was one of the most afifectionate, 
kind-hearted men I ever knew. I never witnessed so much tender 
affection and devoted love as existed in that family of three 
persons. 

His dear Virginia, after her death, was his 'Lost Lenore.' I 
have spent weeks in the closest intimacy with Mr. Poe, and I 
never saw him drink a drop of liquor, wine or beer, in my life, and 
never saw him under the slightest influence of any stimulants 
whatever. He was, in truth, a most abstemious and exemplary 
man. But I learned from Mrs. Clemm that if, on the importunity 
of a convivial friend, he took a single glass, even wine, it suddenly 
flashed through his nervous system and excitable brain, and that 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 217 

he was no longer himself, or responsible for his acts. His biog- 
raphers have not done his virtues or his genius justice; and to pro- 
duce a startling effect, by contrast, have magnified his errors and 
attributed to him faults which he never had. He was always, in 
my presence, the polished gentleman, the profound scholar, the 
true critic, and the inspired oracular poet; dreaming and spiritual; 
lofty but sad. 

Mrs. Clemm bears the following testimony : 
Eddie was domestic in all his habits, seldom leaving home for an 
hour unless his darling Virginia, or myself, were with him. He was 
truly an affectionate, kind husband, and a devoted son to me. He was 
impulsive, generous, affectionate, and noble. His tastes were very 
simple, and his admiration for all that was good and beautiful was 
very great. We three lived for each other. 

And yet Griswold, in the preface to Poe's collected 
works wrote : 

There seemed to him no moral susceptibility; and, what was more 
remarkable in a proud nature, little or nothing of the true point of 
honor. He had, to a morbid excess, that desire to rise which is vulgarly 
called ambition, but no wish for the esteem or the love of his species; 
only the hard wish to succeed — not shine, not serve — succeed, that he 
might have the right to despise the world which galled his self- 
conceit. 

We have, finally, Poe's own estimate of himself, written 
to Mrs. Whitman. 

With the exception of occasional follies and excesses which I bit- 
terly lament but to which I have been driven by intolerable sorrow, 
and which are hourly committed by others without attracting any 
notice whatever — I can call to mind no act of my life which would 
bring a blush to my cheeks — or to yours. 

Poe was a Solitary. Apparently there was no one, outside 
his family group, with whom at any time he became 
intimate. In some of his letters he seemdto long for friend- 
ship and, especially in one that he wrote to Lowell, he ex- 
pressed himself with unusual freedom, and without that 
veil of mental reserve through which he allowed the world 
to view and misjudge him : 



218 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

I can feel for the 'constitutional indolence* of which you complain 
— for it is one of my own besetting sins. I am excessively slothful and 
wonderfully industrious — by fits. There are epochs when any kind of 
mental exertion is torture and when nothing yields me pleasure but 
solitary communion 'with the mountains and the woods* — the 'altars' 
of Byron. I have thus rambled and dreamed away whole months, and 
awake, at last, to a sort of mania of compxDsition. 

I am not ambitious, except negatively. I now and then feel stirred 
up to excel a fool, merely because I hate to let a fool imagine he can 
excel me. 

I live continually in a reverie of the future; I have no faith in 
human perfectability. 

I think that human exertion will have no appreciable effect on 
humanity. Man is now only more active — not more happy — not more 
wise, than he was 6000 years ago. . . . You speak of 'an estimate of 
my life,* and from what I have already said, you will see that I have 
none to give. 

I have been too conscious of the mutability and evanescence of 
temporal things to give any continuous effort to anything — to be con- 
sistent in anything. 

My life has been a whim — an impulse — a passion — a longing for 
solitude — a scorn of all things present in an earnest desire for the 
future. 

I am profoundly excited by music and by some poems — those of 
Tennyson especially — whom with Keats, Shelley, Coleridge occasion- 
ally, and a few others of like thought and expression, I regard as the 
sole poets. 

Poe's was a royal mentality, and we may be sure that he 
fully realized that he was without a peer among those with 
whom he associated. Who else would dare write: "Mr. 
Bryant is not all fool. Mr. Willis is not quite an ass. Mr. 
Longfellow w;i// steal, but, perhaps he cannot help it, and it 
must not be denied that nil tetegit quod non ornavit."' 

To him who wears the crown, possibly such language is 
permissible. Yet it is unfortunate that Poe's life could not 
have been enriched by a few of those literary friendships 
that have so glorified the lives of such men as Johnson, 
Thackeray, Goldsmith and Lamb. 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 219 

There was one to whom he warmed and, under more 
propitious circumstances, there might have ripened such 
mutual appreciation as to have indissolubly linked their 
names — ^no matter how wide the literary gap that separ- 
ated them. 

Although Poe's letters to Lowell are marked by an un- 
usual and personal note of cordial friendship, and Lowell 
apparently reciprocated, they never met except on the 
one unfortunate occasion, the circumstances of which 
were such as to cause a serious and permanent alienation. 
Yet their correspondence seemed to justify the olive 
branch Poe held out : 

I hope ere long to have the pleasure of conversing with you per- 
sonally. There is no man living with whom I have so much desire to 
become acquainted. How much I would like to interchange opinions 
with you on poems and poets in general ! I fancy that we should agree, 
usually, in results, while differing frequently about principles. The day 
may come when we can discuss everything at leisure and in person. 

There is every reason to believe that, had Lowell recip- 
rocated, a great literary friendship might have resulted, in 
spite of the fact that the two men differed as greatly in 
their literary capacities as they did in their material 
fortunes. 

Who of the present generation would have connected 
the name of Poe the maligned — the man whose name be- 
came a synonym for all that is held to be repulsive, 
who "succeeded in attracting and combining in his own 
person all the floating vices which genius had hitherto 
shown itself capable of grasping in its widest and most 
eccentric orbit" ;**a man who became an object of charity" ; 
"the delirious drunken pauper of a common hospital"; 
whose memory and name became a byword ; in whose own 
works there was embedded by his unmoral biographer the 
story of a "career full of instruction and warning, as it has 
always been made a portion of the penalty of wrong that 



220 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

its anatomy should be displayed for the common study 
and advantage"; pilloried in his life and crucified in his 
death — with that of Lowell the Ambassador, the Professor 
of belles-lettres, the literary arbiter of the late nineteenth 
century. 

Poe's name will live in spite of his critics and of evil re- 
ports. He has left works that neither time nor age nor 
changing fashions nor new standards can cast into ob- 
livion. They will constitute a "monument more lasting than 
brass," and with Horace he can sing: 

Quod si me lyricis vatibus inserts 
Sublimi feriam sidere vertice 

for their dreams have been realized and they "have 
reached the stars with the high-carried head." 

None can begrudge Lowell his niche in the temple of 
fame. Although in the coming years but few will listen to 
his "Conversations on Some of the Old Poets," or look 
with him through his "Study Windows," or accompany 
him on his "Fireside Travels," yet shall he have the satis- 
faction of knowing that, so far as this world and its judg- 
ments are concerned, his reputation remains untarnished ; 
and that no word of scandal ever has been uttered which 
could in the slightest besmirch his good name. 

It is equally certain, although for some good New 
England reason Lowell assumed the throne left vacant 
by the death of Longfellow, that generations to come 
will know him not; and that his name, good or bad, 
will perish from the memory of man, unless it be recalled 
as a contributor to the curiosities of literature, when the 
"Biglow Papers" are referred to, or "A Fable for Critics" is 
mentioned because it contains an allusion to Poe. 

Lowell's name may be carried to future generations be- 
cause he almost became Poe's friend. 

Did one pay the price because he was the child of genius, 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 221 

while the other inherited the earth because he lacked this 
divine gift ? Who rightly may be judged the more fortu- 
nate? For of the mediocre who strive, struggle, die and are 
forgotten, the world holds no record. 

Our beloved Autocrat, more wonderfully than I know 
of elsewhere, has described this "Race of Life." 

Commencement day always reminds me of the start for the 
'Derby' when the beautiful three-year olds of the season are brought 
up for the trial. . . . But this is the start and here they are, coats 
bright as silk, and manes smooth as eau lustrale can make them. Some 
of the best are pranced around, a few minutes each, to show their 
paces. . . . Do they really think those little thin leg« can do anything 
in such a slashing sweepstakes as is coming off in the next forty years? 
Oh, this terrible gift of second-sight that comes to some of us when we 
begin to look through the silvered rings of the arcus senilis! Ten years 
gone. First turn in the race. A few broken down; two or three bolted. 
Cassock, a black colt, seems to be ahead of the rest; those black colts 
commonly get the start, I have noticed, of the others in the first quar- 
ter. Meteor has pulled up. 

Twenty years. Cassock has dropped from the front, and Judex, an 
iron-gray, has the lead. But look! how they have thinned out. Down 
fiat, — five, — six, how many ? They lie still enough ! They will not get up 
again in this race, be very sure ! 

Thirty years. Dives, bright sorrel, ridden by the fellow in the yel- 
low jacket, begins to make play fast. But who is that other one that 
has been lengthening his stride and now shows close up to the front? 
Don't you remember the quiet brown colt Asteroid with the star in his 
forehead? The black colt, as we used to call him, is in the background 
taking it easily in a gentle trot. 

Forty years. More dropping off but much as before. 

Fifty years. Race over. All that are on the course are coming in at 
a walk ; no more running. Who is ahead ? What ! and the winning post a 
slab of white or gray stone standing out from that turf where there is 
no more jockying or straining for victory. 

Although Poe is now recognized as our literary primate, 
he has been denied official recognition ; moreover he has 
been reluctantly admitted to our metropolitan Hall of 
Fame, and those who should have gloried in the great 



222 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

literary reputation he has given to us, and who should have 
welcomed him as a peer, coldly declined to participate 
when they were asked to do him honor. 

Boston, with its New England clientele, never bowed 
the knee. To them it seemed incomprehensible that one 
could have arisen who did not belong to their local cult, 
strangely ignoring the fact that in spite of their ostra- 
cism Poe really was Boston born. Woodberry had reason 
to congratulate himself on his liberality of spirit in recog- 
nizing a "literary life led outside New England." 

Years ago the acid test was applied. When, through the 
efforts of old friends and of the school children of Balti- 
more, a public subscription was raised for the purpose of 
erecting a "slab of stone" to fittingly mark the resting-place 
of Poe's body — there he is not — they asked those great 
men of Boston who had been Poe's contemporaries, and 
who necessarily recognized his literary eminence, to join in 
commemorating his memory. These invitations were either 
ignored or declined. 

Lowell, Poe's old friend and admirer, in a four-line letter, 
"regretted very much that it will be quite impossible for 
me to be present." Bryant, in a note equally brief, returned 
"thanks for the obliging invitation." Mr. Whittier: "As g 
matter of principle, I do not favor ostentatious monu- 
ments" (only a few hundred dollars had been raised by 
these poor children of Baltimore) . Dr. Holmes, in his letter 
of declination, feelingly referred to Poe's sins of commis- 
sion: "The hearts of all who reverence the inspiration of 
genius, who can look tenderly upon the infirmities too often 
attending it, who can feel for its misfortunes, will sym- 
pathize with you, as you gather around the resting place of 
all that was mortal of Edgar Allan Poe." If Holmes, 
usually so generous and warm-hearted, could thus coldly 
respond, to whom could we then turn ? Surely there was one 
who would exhibit some tenderness for the memory of a 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 223 

contemporary he most certainly admired, however widely 
apart their orbits ranged. But Longfellow's response was 
the briefest of all ; no kindly memory nor literary apprecia- 
tion roused the slightest spark of his sympathy. To him 
these two lines : 

The fever called living 

Is conquered at last. 

seemed the fitting Epitaph and End. 

And Tennyson, the Tennyson Poe so admired, — would 
that I did not have to record it ! — wrote : 

I have long been acquainted with Poe's works and am an admirer 
of them. I am obliged to you for your expressions about myself, and 
your promise of sending me the design for the poet's monument, and 
beg you to believe me, yours very truly. 

None of these, by the slightest word or token, gave evi- 
dence of sympathetic interest or of respect for the memory 
of Poe: not one of them went beyond the limit of strict 
etiquette in their formal answers. 

This indifference cannot be accounted for by sectional 
jealousies or by local prejudices. Many years before our 
country again had become one; the ties binding it had 
grown into indissoluble bonds that have made us forget 
there ever was a line of cleavage. Holmes once used 
and explained the word "polarized" in a way to account 
for this attitude. 

Continuity of contemptuous memory and biography had 
overcome and "polarized" all feeling for the human side of 
Poe, and had obliterated all thought of him, except the one 
that was bitter and that bore no relation to his genius. 
Coming generations will become de-polarized. 

Had it been Lowell, and not Poe, whose name was to have 
been celebrated by a fitting observance of his memorable 
qualities, — not of the things he wrote, — what an outpour- 
ing of commemorative odes would have honored alike the 
subject and the singers! 



224 POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 

I do not believe that I am peculiar in the great love that 
I hold for the names of certain writers — not necessarily 
because they wrote marvelous things, but because they 
are men who appeal to my heart. 

It was Thackeray who said: 

If Steele is not our friend he is nothing. He is by no means the most 
brilliant of wits or the deepest of thinkers, but he is our friend ; we love 
him as children love, with an A because he is amiable. I own to liking 
Dick Steele the Man and Dick Steele the Author much better than 
much better men and much better authors. 

How I would have loved to go a-fishing with old Isaac, 
and have had him show me "that very chub with a white 
spot on his tail." What a feast I could have had at the 
Mitre, not because of Johnson's turgid argumentations 
**for effect," but rejoicing in Goldsmith's whimsicalities 
and stuttered paradoxes ; and the touch of his honest hand 
would have thrilled me in spite of his absurd "bloom- 
colored coat" and his homely snub-nosed face seared by 
the scars of smallpox. 

Or could I have met, only one time, the big-hearted 
Thackeray in one of his hours of relaxation, possibly on one 
of his occasional meetings with "Old Fitz," indulging in 
persiflage and uproarious boyish laughter — ^Thackeray, the 
lovable, who never stooped to, nor tolerated, an ignoble 
action, and who satirized all that was false, mean, and dis- 
honest ; that poor Thackeray who so patiently bore the one 
great and unbearable af^iction in his attempt to mother 
his motherless girls. 

Would not one have enjoyed a day at Silverado with 
Louis Stevenson, that patient sufferer who so pathetically 
and tenaciously fought for life — not because he feared 
death, but because life held much joy? We cannot even 
look at the crags of Mount Saint Helena, which for a 
time held and finally restored him, without a quickening 
of the pulse-beat and a tightening of the heart-strings. 



POE: A PSYCHOPATHIC STUDY 225 

Among such "Royal and Noble Authors" as these, Poe 
would not have been the least of those I loved. In his hours 
of sorrow and depression, when he shunned the world and 
sought seclusion in the little cottage at Fordham, now a 
shrine to his memory, I could have kept him silent com- 
pany, and in my own poor way have ministered to his 
necessities — possibly have given him aid in his affliction ; 
or I would have accompanied him on one of his solitary 
rambles to High Bridge, bearing with him his load of gloom 
and wretchedness. When his mood changed and inspiration 
lighted his mobile face, I would have rejoiced in his low- 
toned voice repeating some favorite poem ; or when super- 
natural themes employed his facile tongue, I would have 
sympathized with him while he dwelled on those wonders 
of nature that so completely occupied his later years ; and, 
in the words of his beloved Tennyson, I would have at- 
tempted with him to seek some solution of the Ultimate, 

And reach ttie law witliin the law. 



A MONOLOGUE CONCERNING 
THE DEAD 



burton's gewtlbma-n's magazine. 
THE CONVERSATION OF EIROS AND CHARMION. 



B T EDGAR 



EiBos. Why do you call me Eiros ! 

Charmiok. So henceforward will you always be called. You must forget, too, my earthly name, 
and speak to me as Charmion. 

Eiros. This is indeed no dream ! 

Charmion. Dreams are with us no more — ^but of these mysteries anon. I rejoice to see you 
looking life-like and rational. The film of the shadow has already passed from off your eyes. Be 
of heart, and fear nothing. Your allotted days of stupor have expired ; and, to-morrow, I will my- 
self induct you into the full joys and wonders of your novel existence. 

EiRes. True — I feel no stupor — none at all. The wild sickness and the terrible darkness have 
left me, and I hear no longer that mad, rushing, horrible sound, like the " voice of many waters." 
Yet my senses are bewildered, Charmion, with the keenness of their perception of the new. 

CuARsiioir. A few days will remove all this — but I fully understand you, and feel for you. It 
is now ten earthly years since I underwent what you undergo— yet the remembrance of It hangs by 
me still. You have now suffered all of pain, however, which you wUl suffer in Aidenn. 

Eiros. In Aidenn ? 

Charmiox. In Aidenn. 

Eiros. Oh God ! — pity me, Charmion ! — I am overburthened with the majesty of all things — 
of the unknown now known — of the speculative Future merged in the august and certain Present 

CuARMioir. Grapple not now with such thoughts. To-morrow we will speak of this. Yont 
mind wavers, and its agitation will find relief in the exercise of simple memories. Look not around, 
nor forward — but back. I am burning with anxiety to hear the details of that stupendous event 
which threw you among us. Tell me of it. Let us converse of familiar things, in the old familiar 
language of the world which has so fearfully perished. 

EiRos. Most fearfully, fearfully ! — this is indeed no dream. 

Charmion. Dreams are no more. Was I much mourned, my Eiros? 

EiROd. Mourned, Charmion? — oh deeply. To that last hour of all there hung a cloud of intence 
gloom and devout sorrow over your household. 

Charmioh. And that last hour — speak of it. Eemember that, beyond the naked fact of the 
catastrophe itself, I know nothing. When, coming out from among mankind, I passed into Night 
through the Grave — at that period, if I remember aiight, the calamity which overwhelmed you was 
utterly unanticipated. But, indeed, I knew little of the speculative philosophy of the day. 

Eiros. The individual calamity was, as you say, -entirely unanticipated; but analogous mis- 
fortunes had been long a subject of discussion with astronomers. I need scarce tell you, my friend, 
that, even when you left us, men had agreed to understand those passages in the most holy writings 
which speak of the final destruction of all things by fire, as having reference to the orb of the earth 
alone. But in regard to the immediate agency of the ruin, speculation had been at fault from that 
epoch in astronomical knowledge in which the comets were divested of the terrors of fiame. The 
very moderate density of these bodies had been well established. They had been observed to pass 
among the satellites of Jupiter, without bringing about any sensible alteration either in the masses 
or in the orbits of these secondary planets. We had long regarded the wanderers as vapory creations 
of inconceivable tenuity, and as altogether incapable of doing injury to our substantial globe, even in 
the event of contact. But contact was not in any degree dreaded ; for the elements of all the comets 
were accurately known. That among them we should look for the agency of the threatened fiery 
destruction had been for many years considered an inadmissible idea. But wonders and wild fancies 
had been, of late days, strangely rife among mankind ; and, although it was only with a few of the 
ignorant that actual apprehension prevailed upon the announcement by astronomers of a new comet, 
yet this announcement was generally received with I know not what of agitation and mistrust. ' 

The elements of the strange oib were immediately calculated, and it was at once conceded by all 
observers that its path, at perihelion, would bring it into veiy close proximity with the earth. There 
were two or three astronomers, and these of secondary note, who resolutely maintained that a contact 
was inevitable. I cannot veiy well express to you the effect of this intelligence upon the people. 
For a few short days they would not believe an assertion which their intellect, so long employed 



A MONOLOGUE CONCERNING THE DEAD 

He was at all times a dreamer — dwelling in ideal realms — in heaven 
or hell — peopled with the creatures and accidents of his brain. He walked 
the streets, in madness or melancholy, with lips moving in indistinct 
curses, or with eyes upturned in passionate prayer, (never for himself, 
for he felt, or professed to feel, that he was really damned,) but for their 
happiness who at the moment were objects of his idolatry; — or, with his 
glances introverted to a heart gnawed with anguish, and with a face 
shrouded in gloom, he would brave the wildest storms; and all night, with 
drenched garments and arms beating the winds and rains, would speak 
as if to spirits that at such times only could be evoked by him from the 
Aidenn, close by whose portals his disturbed soul sought to forget the ills 
to which his constitution subjected him — close by the Aidenn where were 
those he loved — the Aidenn which he might never see, but in fitful glimpses 
as its gates opened to receive the less fiery and more happy natures whose 
destiny to sin did not involve the doom of death. 

(Extract from Griswold's Memoir of Poe published in the third volume 
of his edition of Poes Works.) 

Charmion Converses with Eiros: 

These are the Heights set apart for those Great of Soul 
and World- Worn. Here, they dwell in Eternal Rest. In 
the World from which they came they carried heavy 
burdens and, despite the glorious names that they won, 
unbelievable misfortunes attended them. The pinions 
which, extended, bore them so bravely, folded, proved 
unwieldy and burdensome. The barbs pointing their wing- 
feathers irritated; at times they excoriated those with 
whom they were brought most closely in contact. Only on 
those rare occasions when spreading their wings they 
could soar, surmounting all earthly obstacles, did they 
find the going pleasant and the way delightful. The ob- 
structions were many and the weight of their folded wings 
proved a handicap in the Race of Life. 



230 MONOLOGUE CONCERNING THE DEAD 

The Highways that they were compelled to travel were 
rough, obstructed by wrecks, soiled with muck, and they 
mud-bespattered those who ran overswiftly. For this 
reason certain of the Elect refused to travel these High- 
ways and sought the Byways. 

All who believed that they had won entrance to Aidenn 
did not gain admission. These Heights are possessed of a 
tenuous and intoxicating ozone that may sustain only 
those who by an especial inheritance were created to 
breathe this atmosphere. 

Changing standards of succeeding Ages unaccountably 
govern the degree of adulation paid to these Dwellers. 
Many of our Guests do not even recognize that Aged 
Man — ^bald, wrinkled and blind, although conspicuous by 
reason of the strange garments that he wears. His diapha- 
nous robe renders him so indistinct that he has been re- 
garded as a Myth, and his corporeal existence has been 
denied. 

At one time He, with that small band of Ancients with 
whom he alone associates, dominated the World of Let- 
ters. It is said that the Epics relating the misfortunes and 
valorous deeds of those Trojan Heroes that they sang, 
filled the World with Melody. These judgments have 
not been sustained and Posterity is fast forgetting their 
existence. It is evident that few recognize or can con- 
verse with them and they have been relegated to the inac- 
cessible Heights. 

Do you see that One standing apart, whom all who pass 
so profoundly salute? Apparently such homage amazes 
him, for he remembers that while he lived on Earth he 
received scant recognition. His contemporaries failed to 
appreciate his marvelous performance and refused him 
recognition as their Primate. They regarded him as an 
interloper who made undue use of their own conceptions ; — 
"an upstart crow beautified with our feathers, " but so care- 



MONOLOGUE CONCERNING THE DEAD 23 1 

less was he of their carping criticisms that he ignored their 
sneers and pressed on to his work unconscious of their 
existence. He does recall that he collected appealing 
phrases and happy expressions culled from many sources, 
and that he wove these into fabrics that fitted his fellow 
mummers, which sufficed for their occasional demands; 
but the World did not applaud. It was no desire for per- 
sonal reputation or immortal fame that caused him to 
labor at this Work. The necessities of his Co-workers 
rather than any inclination of his own induced him to 
select Ancient Legends and Historical Chronicles and to 
dress them in the figments of his imagination, picturing 
them so vividly that they seemed endowed with life. So 
slight was the labor that gave birth to these dream- 
children, and so spontaneous was their creation that he 
failed to appreciate their immortality. So unconsciously 
and unpremeditatedly did they well forth that he did not 
recognize the melody of their flow, nor did he realize that 
he had discovered the Fountain at which succeeding gen- 
erations would slake their intellectual thirst. He sang 
as the mocking-bird sings, repeating all, harmonious and 
beautiful, that he heard, and in the crucible of his brain 
he transmuted these into everliving phrases. At the 
memory of Justice Shallow he smiles, and he recalls with 
longing his cup of mulled sack and his hour gossip with 
Dame Quickley. He has forgotten that Celestial flight 
when, like the Queen Bee he spread his wings and soared 
into the Empyrean, returning to earth impregnated with 
Immortal Accomplishment. In his own care-free way he 
made no attempt to hive his Heaven-begotten Progeny, 
nor did he realize that the buzzing of their wings would 
grow into such melodious notes that others would feel 
impelled to register them. For this reason it is said that 
another was allowed to lay its moth eggs in a fabric too 
precious to have been thus defiled. 



232 MONOLOGUE CONCERNING THE DEAD 

On Earth he ignored those jV^cients, though occasion- 
ally he borrowed some trifle from them. When they at- 
tempted to bind him with their fetters, he broke these 
restraining bands as if they were wythes of willow and, 
in defiance, sang songs so marvelous that he unseated 
them and himself occupied their vacated throne. 

For many years but few were admitted from that New 
Continent with which, because of your latest reincarna- 
tion, you are now familiar; yet these few, by reason of 
their accomplishments, have markedly increased the at- 
tractiveness of a residence, and enjoyment of the life lived 
in Aidenn. 

Surely you recognize that wingless one so vivaciously 
talking to the gentle-faced, high-browed man who is con- 
spicuous by reason of his wing-spread ? Although lovable 
qualities and many accomplishments make this one a wel- 
come guest, unaided, he could never have scaled these 
Heights. For this reason his right to admittance here has 
been questioned. 

You have seen him on the wing? Those appendages 
which evidently deceive you, are not wings. They are 
alae, such as those possessed by the flying fish, which can 
support temporary flight only when the start is with suf- 
ficient momentum. He was fortunate in the fact that he 
resided in a locality in which the climate is possessed of 
that peculiar quality .that transforms such wing-like 
appendages into pinions; in that mirage-like atmosphere 
such illusions are not infrequent. Many who inhabit that 
region appear to soar but with the most favoring breezes 
they cannot attain Aidenn. There, he was "The Auto- 
crat." It was he who so felicitously described "The Race 
of Life." The one with whom he converses is Asteroid, 
the winner of that Race. Yes, Asteroid does bear a 
marked resemblance to the Great Stone Face. Although 
his name is now blazoned he had but an indifferent recep- 



MONOLOGUE CONCERNING THE DEAD 233 

tion in the world from which he came. He refused to 
travel the Highways. It is certain that his wings disturbed 
no one and that they were never soiled. So hidden was 
the Many-gabled House in which he lived that few could 
find the Byway leading to it; so concealed was it by the 
spell of his magic that its actuality was denied. 

Both Asteroid and the Autocrat reside in the Vale where 
the gently flowing water's tend to somnolence. Only occa- 
sionally does Asteroid scale these Heights for he prefers 
the quietude of his Edenic abode. 

Naturally you do not recognize that other presence who 
accompanies these two. His spindling legs barely support 
the corpulent body. Occasionally he serves to amuse. 
Whenever the Autocrat pronounces the name "Asteroid" 
there seems to be an elision of the last syllable, and this 
ungainly being responds. What is really remarkable is 
that, on earth, this one had seemed a desirable companion. 
Familiarly known as Dives it was he, under the entry 
name "Sorrel," whom the World judged to have won that 
Race. So swiftly did he run and so reckless was he of 
muck and mire that the yellow mud with which he was 
encased was mistaken for an aureola. 

His occasional admission here has been tolerated by 
reason of an incident for which only indirectly is he 
responsible. From the mud that was scaled from him one 
of the World's greatest Libraries was constructed. He 
can not understand why one who so freely furnished the 
Fertilizer should not participate in the Harvest. 

Necessarily you recognize the One occupying the 
Heights. He could be none other — Israfel. Do you not 
recall his description : 

In Heaven a Spirit doth dwell 
'Whose heart strings are a lute;' 
None sing so wildly well 
As the angel Israfel, 



234 MONOLOGUE CONCERNING THE DEAD 

And the giddly stars, (so legends tell) 

Ceasing their hymns, attend the spell 

Of his voice, all mute. 

If I could dwell 

Where Israfel 

Hath dwelt, and he where I, 

He might not sing so wildly well 

A mortal melody. 

While a bolder note than this might swell 

From my lyre within the sky. 

Many years ago there was a young country endowed 
with all that constitutes earthy greatness but it lacked a 
soul. It abounded in Highways which led to all eminences 
and to every point of vantage, but its Byways were nar- 
row and straight and many difficulties beset those who 
travelled upon them. Travellers necessarily followed the 
Highways, or they suffered privations unbearable. Only 
on them could food and drink be found. These Highways 
were constructed of earth and were cut deep in ruts. In 
many places filth offended, for this way was travelled by 
flocks of geese not inaptly called "Quacks of Helicon." 
They cluttered and befouled the way, gabbling inces- 
santly. For this reason certain of these Highways became 
impassable for those demanding quiet and cleanliness. 

Although this Nation possessed all the qualities that 
constituted greatness, and was peculiarly adapted for seiz- 
ing all material things that made for prosperity, being 
especially gifted with the faculty of selecting that which 
made for individual betterment, they were singularly 
lacking in the environment requisite for intellectual 
growth. For their regeneration we sent Israfel, our best 
beloved. We armed him with mighty wings arrow- 
pointed, and so sharply barbed that they could penetrate 
the most indurated coating of self-conceit. It became his 
task to drive these literary quacks from the Highways. 
He was compelled to strike and occasionally to flay them 



MONOLOGUE CONCERNING THE DEAD 23 5 

when their skins became unduly calloused. It was be- 
lieved that his presence and example would prove the 
leavening necessary for their intellectual regeneration. 
He found them unruly pupils who would not be taught by 
example, nor would they accept instruction. Although 
mightily armed Israfel could not prevail, and association 
with them brought upon him befoulment unbelievable. 
We knew of the hostility and persecution that had been 
heaped upon other of our Messengers equally powerfully 
winged, and that aid and comfort must be furnished for 
his protection during those dark hours when his wings 
grew over-heavy and dragged him down. For this reason 
we sent Her — Demeter, the Great Mother — to protect 
and shield him in this unequal struggle. Do you not 
observe her — that one with her arm protectingly thrown 
around his shoulders, while he holds one other by the 
hand ? This one clings to him, and shrinkingly avoids all 
others. We call her Astarte. She is an ethereal spirit too 
delicately constitutioned to have long withstood the rigors 
of that inhospitable climate from which she came. In 
the life lived there these three suffered bitterly and they 
still bear the stigmata of their crucifixion. Time, with 
happier surroundings, may obliterate their scars. Here, 
they are inseparable and together they receive the homage 
of the Elect. 

Observe Israfel, oblivious of all else in the rapt atten- 
tion with which he regards that Reader! Yes, it is the 
Great Laureate whom, once upon a time, Israfel so enthu- 
siastically praised. Here, he and Israfel are in constant 
communion; together they give forth their songs with 
cadence so mellifluous that it accords with the Heavenly 
Choir. 

That figure with noble mien, whose snow white hair and 
flowing beard so markedly distinguish him? Israfel 
beckons him to approach and The Laureate extends a 



236 MONOLOGUE CONCERNING THE DEAD 

welcoming hand, yet he hesitates to become one of this 
group and remains apart patiently awaiting Posterity's 
verdict. It is said that he adopted and translated what- 
ever could be found that was harmonious and beautiful, 
but that his own creations lacked substance. Whatever 
the verdict be, it is certain that he deserved the quotation 
that Israfel once applied to him : nil tetigit quod non ornavit. 
Surely all things he touched he glorified. 

And that one, so handsome and debonair with the flow- 
ing locks, who bears himself so proudly? He approaches 
confidently and Israfel greets him as an equal, though The 
Laureate fails to recognize him. Israfel presents him as 
a poet but The Laureate can recall no performance. With 
a shudder he does recall one couplet : 

But the wind without was bitter and sharp 
Of Sir Launfal's gray hair it made a harp. 

He fails to recognize this description for the tonsure is 
perfect and not one stray lock can be mistaken for the 
string of a harp. He cannot understand why an Ambas- 
sador apparelled in knee breeches and silk stockings, still 
wearing the insignia that marked him as a representative 
to the Court of St. James, has been admitted to Aidenn. 
He does not know that Israfel urged it as a reward of an 
old friendship. 

No, as a rule no one suffering with mental disorder is 
allowed admission here. Yet it occasionally happens that 
only by such admission can those afflicted with certain 
forms of incurable mania be quieted. 

Although these bibliomaniac patients have been segre- 
gated and, under no circumstances, are they allowed to 
approach our guests, nevertheless residence on these 
Heights alleviates their mental restlessness. The air is 
impregnated with the effuvia emanating from genius and, 
for this reason, exerts a balsamic and soporific influence 



MONOLOGUE CONCERNING THE DEAD 237 

most soothing to those obsessed with this peculiar afflic- 
tion. It is true that while they were inhabitants of the 
earth they treated many of our guests contumeliously and 
failed to recognize their great performance. Occasionally 
they are allowed admission, for they act as scavengers 
carefully gathering the smallest scraps of paper that have 
been touched by the hands of the Elect. With pride they 
exhibit and boast of their collections, imagining that this 
ownership reflects glory upon them ; their bibliomania is a 
harmless form of disease and in some unexplainable way 
this occupation quiets them. The treatment is merely 
palliative for the more they indulge the more confirmed 
do they become in their mania. 

And that creature wobbling on two legs but giving no 
other evidence that it is human ? I know that it is a horror 
and that it disgusts all whom it approaches. It is ad- 
mitted for a specific purpose and it can only enter when 
accompanied by its keeper, that limping individual with 
the cloven foot. 

Israfel occasionally poses as a scientist and has even 
attempted, with his mighty wings, to scale the heavenly 
firmament, but so peculiarly were they constructed that 
they could not sustain him in such a flight. He is ex- 
tremely friendly with that old gentleman — here known 
under the cognomen Werther — who, though a peer among 
our most noble poets, still insists that by mistake he was 
assigned to these Heights. He believes that his proper 
abode is in that Valley where the Scientists dwell. He 
demanded entrance there but was coldly received, and 
his pretensions were ignored, so that, under protest, he has 
returned and again abides with us. Werther and Israfel 
are bound by a bond of friendship based on the admira- 
tion that each bears the other because of their scientific 
attainments. While their fields of research lie far apart, 
the spirit of investigation animates both and draws them 



238 MONOLOGUE CONCERNING THE DEAD 

into the closest union. It is true that neither one fully 
comprehends the arguments adduced by the other, yet, 
for that very reason, they are the more tolerant of all 
theories advanced. 

Werther was explaining that our embryonic develop- 
ment closely follows the permanent forms found in the 
lower animals ; at one time we were spineless and heartless 
and only in the course of aeons did we begin to assume 
the human shape and that we were altogether neither 
brute nor human ; he further asserted that, sooner or later, 
the missing link would be found. At this Israfel became 
greatly interested. He insisted that once he had met such 
an animal. It was at his urgent solicitation that this 
wobbling creature was admitted, doubly welcome because 
he was guarded by one whom Werther knew as Mephis- 
topheles, and with whom he had become somewhat closely 
associated. Werther expects to demonstrate on this beast 
that the cranium consists of vertebrae so expanded as to 
hold the slowly enlargening brain. Whether these verte- 
brae are three or four in number seemed to be the matter 
under discussion. I fear that they are now contemplating 
vivisection in order to determine this unsettled question, 
but the Great Jehovah will forbid. He knows that this 
animal is microcephalous and that if dissected it will 
exhibit an abnormal diminution of brain matter. This 
animal is not responsible for its abnormality. I fear that 
the Potter was careless and that many other deformities 
exist that also unfit it for human intercourse. That bulg- 
ing protuberance is not a heart : the mass that resembles 
one is a jelly fish with its cold and clammy processes ad- 
hering to and besliming all things with which it comes in 
contact. This animal once infused into a crystal chalice 
that Israfel gave to it for safe keeping a potion so nauseous 
that it sickened the whole world. Why hold it on a leash ? 
It is a treacherous beast and is void of understanding. 



MONOLOGUE CONCERNING THE DEAD 239 

For some reason it assumes that this is its rightful home 
and, were it not restrained, it would disgust our guests by 
its beslobbering attempts to lick their hands. It seems 
that once upon a time this was its working plan that for a 
short time succeeded. By some it was regarded as a pos- 
sible aspirant for this abode; unfortunately for its pre- 
tensions not one of its friends has been able to attain these 
Heights and for this reason none here will give it recog- 
nition : on the other hand it failed to recognize those who 
were rightfully entitled to enter. After all it is to be more 
pitied than despised; being both brainless and heartless, 
it cannot be over-harshly judged because its actions did 
not square with the dictates of humanity. 

In this beast's attempt to deceive the World it was 
partially successful in passing off those long and flapping 
ears as wings, so unusually large and mobile were they. 
At a distance they easily could have been so mistaken. 
Though this thing wore the skin of a lion this was soon 
recognized to be a harmless pose. Whenever and wher- 
ever it opened its mouth, the deep and reverberating tones 
of the voice made evident its species. For some years it 
did succeed in hiding its greatest deformity but when, in 
time, that protuberance occupying the heart's position 
was opened, the stench became a public scandal. The 
World has tried to forget him but it can not because he 
has gone down to posterity as ''the unfaithful servant who 
betrayed his trust." 



APPENDIX 



APPENDIX A 

POE'S REVIEW OF GRISWOLD'S 

"THE POETS AND POETRY OF AMERICA" PUBLISHED 

IN THE "PHILADELPAIA SATURDAY 

MUSEUM" IN THE YEAR 1843 

Reprinted from Gill's "The Life of Edgar Allan Poe." 

"The Poets and Poetry of America. With an Historical Intro- 
duction. By Rufus W. Griswold. 

Here the free spirit of mankind at length 
Throws its last fetters off; and who shall place 
A limit to the giant's unchained strength. 
Or curb his swiftness in the forward race? 

Bryant. 

Ere long thine every stream shall find a tongue, 
Land of the many waters. — Hoffman. 

Third Edition. Revised, with Illustrations. Philadelphia: 
Carey & Hart, Chestnut Street." 

Perhaps no work ever appeared whose announcement created a 
greater sensation among the poetasters of the land, whose editor was 
so puffed, praised, and glorified in advance, and which was so uni- 
versally assailed on its advent, as "The Poets and Poetry of America." 
Is Mr. — we ask his pardon, — the Reverend Mr. Griswold, the man of 
varied talents, of genius, of known skill, of overweening intellect, he 
was somewhile pictured, or is he the arrant literary quack he is now 
entitled by the American press? If he is a man of genius, or even 
great talents, signal injustice has been done him ; and if not, his as- 
sumption of such a character cannot be too sufficiently reprobated. 
Genius we defined in a former review. The best means to establish 
a man's right to the title, is to examine his past course and his present 
pxjsition. 

The first knowledge we had of Mr. Griswold was his occupancy of 
the position of assistant, or junior editor, some years since, to a minor 
sheet entitled "The New Yorker," then of the New York "Brother 



244 APPENDIX 

Jonathan," then in the same capacity to the "Daily Standard," (a 
political sheet published in Philadelphia during the Harrison cam- 
paign,) under that Atlas of intellect, Francis L. Grund, and finally, on 
Mr. Grund's withdrawal from the connection, sole editor. The paper 
(a notorious fact !) immediately fell off in circulation, and died in less 
than three weeks after his assuming the editorship. We next find him 
in his former subordinate capacity to the "Boston Notion," and 
finally as editor to the "Post," and "Graham's Magazine," or, as it is 
entitled by that chaste and exquisite sheet, the New York Herald, 
"The American Blackwood." 

After the death of the "Standard," Carey & Hart announced the 
present work, and our author arose from comparative insignificance 
to be the idol of all the poetical editors and would-be great men in 
America. The book appeared, and ^'lafleur d'une heure" faded into 
nothingness. 

"Up like a rocket, and down like its stick," 
is a terse epitaph on his career. 

One question now remains to be answered: Did the "Jonathan" or 
the "Notion" attain any higher position than before, during Mr. G.'s 
connection with them; or have the "Post" and "Graham's Magazine" 
improved under his supervision? The "Standard" we leave out of the 
question, as it expired under his management. Certainly not as to the 
former; and the brilliant career of Graham's Magazine under Mr. 
Poe's care, and its subsequent trashy literary character since his re- 
tirement, is a sufficient response. Mr. Griswold's genius, at least, has 
not benefited his employers. But that he has no claim to that char- 
acter is evident, and we do not believe his warmest admirer (if he has 
one?) will insist on his right to bear the title. That he has some 
talents we allow, but they are only those of a mediocre character ; in- 
deed, every third man one might meet in a day's walk is his equal, if 
not his superior. As a critic, his judgment is worthless, for a critic 
should possess sufficient independence and honesty to mete out justice 
to all men, without fear, favor, or partiality, as well as be a man of 
various acquirements, or at least a linguist and classical scholar. Is 
Mr. Griswold one of these? No! The review department of Gra- 
ham's Magazine, and its original literary contents, monthly, exhibit 
ample evidence of his want of taste and inability if not of critical 
honesty ; while its very cover displays his want of judgment in com- 
mon-sense business matters, and his egotism and petty envy and 
dislikes of men he dares not openly assail. As an instance, we have the 



APPENDIX 245 

"Principal Contributors," W. C. Bryant, J. F. Cooper, R. H. Dana, 
H. W. Longfellow, C. F, Hoffman {horresco referens!), T, C. Grattan, 
N. P. Willis, and H. W. Herbert, arranged in proper order. We ask, 
is this in accordance with the age, established reputation, or merits 
of the several authors? 

Are Dana and Hoffman the superiors of N. P. Willis, who has 
written more beautiful and true poetry than either of them? Is Bry- 
ant a better poet than Longfellow? Certainly not, for in Longfellow's 
pages the spirit of poetry — ideality — walks abroad, while Bryant's 
sole merit is tolerable versification and fine marches of description. 
Longfellow is unquestionably the best poet in America. These gentle- 
men would be better placed in alphabetical order, or at least in ac- 
cordance with their actual merits. In the latter view they might be 
ranked thus: H. W. Longfellow, W. C. Bryant, N. P. Willis, and R. H. 
Dana, as poets, and J. F. Cooper and T. C, Grattan, as prose writers ; 
while such names as C. F. Hoffman, whose only merit is his wealth, 
and H. W, Herbert, who has written more trash than any man living 
with the exception of Fay, should be excluded to make room for those 
of men of more substantial character as writers. 

In the "Prospectus," Mr. Griswold's self-esteem is strangely devel- 
oped. Here we have him in his capacity of '^author" of the "Poets 
and Poetry of America," as thirteenth in the list, and of course 
superior in rank to Sargent, Benjamin, Simms, Lowell, Thomas, Poe, 
Hill, our own Conrad (one of the sweetest poets of the time), Greeley, 
&ZC., &ZC., who follow him. Unexampled modesty! In the same list 
we find C. J. Peterson ranked as the superior of Greeley, Ingraham, 
Colton, Robert Morris, Reynell Coates, Field, &c. 

Again, how modestly our critic puffs himself in his remarks on the 
"Editorial Department": — "The criticisms of Graharrxs Magazine are 
acknowledged in all parts of this country to be superior in acumen, 
honesty, and independence to those of any contemporary. Indeed, while 
a majority of the monthly and quarterly journals have become mere adver- 
tising mediums for the booksellers, in which everything *m print' is in- 
discriminately praised, this periodical is boked upon as a just and 
discriminating arbiter between authors and readers, in which both can 
have implicit confidence." Pretty well that, for a modest man, Mr. G., 
particularly in the assumption of praise given to the former editor, to 
whose criticisms it was awarded, and who, it is well known, made the 
magazine. Is this, or is this not, sailing under false colors? How- 
ever, our compiler is right. Any flag is better than his own. And 
in literture, as in piracy, the free-trader always "runs up" the best 



246 APPENDIX 

at his fore ; but had we done this, we should blush at our own impu- 
dence in knowing that we had been guilty of one of the most bare- 
faced pieces of literary swindling of modem days. 

Mais, revenous a nos moutons, and a very muttonish production it 
is — "The Poets and Poetry of America." Is it fair to condemn Mr. 
Griswold's ability to act as a judge and critic of our poets without 
examining into his poetical and critical competency? Certainly not; 
and in the premises we shall act justly, generously, and impartially. 
"Just!" we think we hear our poet exclaim, like the man arraigned for 
horsestealing, when told by his judge he should have justice done him. 
"Justice! plase your Honor's glory — that's the very thing I don't 
want." Mr. G., however, claims to be a poet, and deduces from that 
position his competency to judge of the poetry of others. Let us 
apply the touchstone to his latest acknowledged article, "The Sun- 
set Storm," published in his (Graham's Magazine, September, 1842; 
and if that does not prove him to possess as little of the divine afflatus, 
artistical skill, and knowledge of plain English construction, as a 
Desert-of-Sahara Arab, let our criticism go for naught. 

We shall premise with a short notice of the art of versification; an 
art which our best poets are ignorant of, or wilfully misunderstand, 
and which our first writers on Prosody have entirely misrepresented. 
Cooper, whose grammar is extensively used, defines it to be "the 
arrangement of a certain number of syllables according to certain 
laws," yet lays down no laws for its government, but drops the sub- 
ject, fearful of burning his fingers. Indeed, all the writers on Prosody, 
from Brown to Murray, have almost entirely waived the subject, 
while the little they have said is founded on, and consequently a 
mass of — error. 

Versification is the art by which various feet of equal quantity, 
though differing in the number of syllables, are arranged in harmoni- 
ous order, and made to form verse. Poetry, in its most confined 
sense, is the result of versification, but may be more properly defined as 
the rhythmical personification of existing or ideal beauty. One defines 
it as the "rhythmical creation of beauty" ; but though it certainly is a 
"creation of beauty" in itself, it is more properly a personification, 
for the poet only personifies the images previously created by his 
mind. Feet are the parts of verse by which, when harmoniously 
associated, the reader steps along, as it were, in a measured manner, 
through the whole. They are composed of one, two, or three variously 
accented and unaccented syllables. The only feet admitted by our 
language are the Iambus, Trochee, Dactyl, Anapest, and Caesura. 



APPENDIX 247 

The Tribrach, Amphibrach, and Pyrrhic, though adopted in English 
Prosody by very erudite writers, never did and never can exist in its 
poetry. Of these hereafter. 

The Iambus is composed of two syllables, one short and one long; 
as, 

"I stand I beneath | the mys ] tic moon." 

The Trochee, of the same number, but exactly the reverse of the 
former; as, 

"In the I greenest | of our | valleys." 

Here "of" is made long by emphasis. 

"In a I sunny, | smiling | valley," 
is a better exemplification of the Trochee. 

The Spondee is composed of two long syllables; as, "wild wood," 
"pale moon," "wind sown," and is only used to prevent monotony, 
or to produce some striking effect in versification. In the commence- 
ment of verse the Trochee is preferable. It is likewise the only foot, 
with the exception of the Caesura, which cannot be used to form con- 
tinuous verse. Longfellow thought it might, and murdered harmony 
most horribly in attempting English Hexameter, a species of verse 
which, though beautiful in the Latin, can never be introduced in our 
language, owing to its wanting a sufficient number of Spondees. A 
language correctly described by Holmes as — 

"Our grating English, whose Teutonic jar 
Shakes the rack'd axle of Art's rattling car." 

The Dactyl is a foot composed of three syllables, two short, pre- 
ceded by one long; as, 

"Ragged and | weary one, | where art thou | traveling?" 

The Anapest is the converse of the Dactyl ; as, 

"On a rock | by the O | cean, all lone | ly and sad." 

The Caesura — the word is from the Greek, and signifies "a pause" 
— is a foot composed of one long syllable, equal in quantity to, that is, 
occupying the same time in pronunciation as the Dactyl, Anapest, 
Iambus or Trochee. It is properly used in English poetry to give a 



248 APPENDIX 

sonorous close to, or to produce a striking and forcible commence- 
ment in verse. We shall give an example from Longfellow, who uses 
it in the latter case, without knowing of its existence, as a distinct fact. 

"In the I market | place of | Bruges | stands the | belfry, | old and | 
brown." 

Here, by reading the verse, the ear will observe that "brown," 
which is the Caesura, consumes the same time as any of the Trochees 
of which the line is composed. 

All our Prosodists define the Caesura (and we give the definition in 
our own words, as it is impossible to form an idea of its use from theirs) 
as a pause introduced for the purpose of producing harmony, in a 
single verse of couplet, between "two members of the same verse," 
by which the one is placed in direct comparison with the other; as, 

"See the bold youth" strain up the threat'ning steep, 
Rush through the thickets", down the valleys sweep." 

( ") Being the marks by which they designate the Caesura, which they 
use, as will be readily perceived, only in an elocutionary sense. 

We, too, use the Caesura as a pause — a pause compelled by the posi- 
tion of, and upon the foot — of the voice, which renders it equal in 
quantity to any of the larger feet, and at the same time gives to the 
close of the verse, where it is most frequently found, a singular rich- 
ness, as well as sonorous fulness and force. When the Caesura termi- 
nates a verse, the poet can immediately step in the next into another 
species of foot without producing the slightest discord. The follow- 
ing is an example of its commencing and concluding a stanza. 

March! \ March! \ March! 

From the | yawning | grave they | come; 
And I thousands | rise, with | lidless | eyes. 

As I taps the | fun'ral | drum. 
Heavi | ly their | white arms | swinging, | 

Clatter, | clatter | on they | go; 

Up in I curling | eddies | flinging | 

High the | fleecy [ snow. 

It will be seen that this stanza is scanned precisely as if it were 
written in one continuous verse, which is the proper mode in, and 
peculiar to our language; as, 



APPENDIX 249 

March! \ March! \ March! \ From the | yawning | grave they | come, 
and I thousands | rise with | lidless | eyes as | taps the | funeral | drum. 

The arrangement of the same depending entirely upon the will of 
the poet. 

The Caesura has been used, "time out of mind," by all our poets, 
but with a perfect ignorance of ijts present character. This discovery, 
as well as that of the above mode of scansion, was left to Edgar A. 
Poe, who has spent more time in analyzing the construction of our 
language than any living grammarian, critic, or essayist. The fol- 
lowing is an example of his use of this foot in the "Haunted Palace:" 

"In the greenest of our valleys, 

By good angels tenanted, 
Once a fair and stately palace 

(Snow-white palace) reared its head. 
In the monarch Thought s dominion, 

It stood there! 
Never seraph spread a pinion 

Over fabric half so /air." 

With this brief analysis, sufficient to explain the subject, we return 
to the examination of the "Sunset Storm." 

The sum | mer sun | has sunk | to rest 
Very fair, Mr. G. 

Below I the green | clad hills. | 

This is Iambic, the simplest of all verse; yet in the second verse, 
or as Mr. G. would call it, the second "line," we have a positive error. 
"Green clad hills" are three consecutive long syllables, and "clad 
hills" being a Spondee, has no business in that position in the verse. 
Mr. Griswold commences with a quiet picture of the sun sinking to 
rest, which the sun always does quietly, as he ought ; and the second 
should, consequently, harmonize with the preceding verse, to carry 
out the idea. "Green clad hills" is as harsh as the grating of a coffee- 
mill. 

"The summer sun has sunk to rest 
Below the" lofty "hills," 

or any other sort of "hills," where the adjective is an Iambus, would 
make it melody. Let us proceed : 



250 APPENDIX 

"And through | the skies | career | ing fast, 
The storm | cloud rides | upon | the blast, 
And now | the rain | distilfe." 

Here the same error is again repeated, "storm-cloud" being, like 
"green-clad," a compound word, and distil is spelt with two "ll's." 

"The flash | we see, | the peal | we hear, | 
With winds | blent in \ their wild | career." 

"Blent in" is the most horrible massacre of harmony we ever en- 
countered. It is neither fish, flesh, nor fowl; neither a Spondee, 
Trochee, or an Iambus; and, deuce take us! if we know what to make 
of it. In Christian charity, Mr. G., enlighten us! 

"Till pains | the ear." 

A most appropriate verse. It certainly pains our ear to proceed with 
the next. 

"It is I the voice | of the ] Storm-King." 

Did any one ever read such delectable doggerel? Did any one ever 
see such a number of short syllables collected in one "line," or see 
such a line published, with a grave face, as poetry. 'We defy even 
Mrs, Wood to sing it musically. "The voice" is the only legitimate 
Iambus in the whole line. "It is," we are compelled to read "It w," 
to make the verse read musically. "Of the" is a Trochee, unless Mr. 
G. would have us read "of the,'' which, from the versification pre- 
cedent and subsequent, we should imagine he wishes us to do. "Storm- 
King" is another compound word, and a Spondee, 

"Leading | his ban | ner'd hosts | along | the sky, 
And drench | ing with | his floods | the ster | ile lands | and dry." 

Here we have a Trochee, "leading," commencing the verse. This 
is not objectionable, for it expresses an action — "leading his ban- 
ner'd hosts." Its introduction frequently produced a fine artistical 
and highly poetical effect, and the poet's as well as the reader's ear 
is the best judge when it should be used. We will give one or two 
examples, since we are riding our favorite horse of versification. 

"And loud | ly on | the ev' | ning's breath, | 
Rang the | shrill cry | of sud | den death!" 

"Rang the," a Trochee, followed by the Spondee "shrill cry," ex- 



APPENDIX 251 

presses forcibly the actual presence and force of the sound on the 
breath, that is, over the low murmur of the evening wind. Again, in 
Byron's "Childe Harold," 

"The sky | is changed, | and such | a change! | O night! 
And storm, | and dark | ness ! Ye | are wond | rous strong, 
Yet love | ly in | your strength | as is | the light | 
Of a I dark eye | in wo | man. Far | along 
From peak | to peak | her rat | tling crags | among | 
Leaps the | live thun | der! Not | from one | lone cloud," 6zc. 

Here is the same definite expression of passion and action in "of a 
dark eye," and "leaps the live thunder." You can feel the loveliness 
of the eye, and hear the crash of, and see the thunder leaping. How 
different are Mr. Griswold's and Lord Byron's descriptions of a 
Storm! 

We copy from, the same Magazine that contains the "Sunset 
Storm," for Mr. Griswold's especial edification, a fine specimen of 
Iambic verse, and advise him when next he uses that "foot," to take 
it as a model. It is from the "Haunted Heart," by a Miss Mary L. 
Lawson, whose ear seems to be nearly faultlessly correct. 

"Ne'er from his heart the vision fades away; 

Amid the crowd, in silence and alone, 
The stars by night, the clear blue sky by day. 

Bring to his mind the happiness that's flown; 
A tone of song, the warbling of the birds. 

The simplest thing that memory endears. 
Can still recall the form, the voice, the words 

Of her, the best beloved of early years." 

In the same poem we find the following highly-finished and de- 
scriptive lines: 

'^And watched the rippling currents as they played 
In ebb and flow upon the banks of flowers." 

We stand, as it were, upon the river's bank ! 

We mentioned something before of the use of Spondees in Latin 
Hexameter, and to make our position perfectly understood, shall 
quote a few examples from different authors. 



252 APPENDIX 

"In nova | fert ani | mus mu | tatas | dicere | formas | 
Corpora | Di coep | tis nam | vos mu | tastis et | illas." — Ovid. 
"Tityre | tu patu ] lae recu | bans sub ] tegmine | fagi." — ^Virgil. 
"Nox ruit I et fus [ cis tel ] lurem, | plectitur | alis." — Ibid. 
This last line is written 

"Nox ruit et fuscis tellurem amplectitur alis." 

But in the words where "um," "am," "em," or a vowel, occur, the 
syllable is taken off by elision. Again, where the line commences 
with a Spondee, 

"Felix I qui potu | it re | rum cog | noscere | causas." — Lucretius. 
Ergo. Mr. Griswold ought to be happy in knowing his book to be 
the cause of our review. 

Now, gentle reader, is Mr. Griswold a versifier? — we have not 
touched him as a Poet, — and if not, and we assert he is not, and never 
was able to understand the first principles of versification, what shall 
be said of his presumption in becoming the judge of a race of men 
whose simplest productions are beyond his comprehension? We have 
more of his poetry (spirits of Pope, Byron, et al., forgive our desecra- 
tion of the name !) on hand, but in none can we find two correct con- 
secutive lines, nor do we wish to inflict them on the reader. But we 
have not yet done with the "Sunset Storm." Independent of its 
worse than tyro-like versification, it is a heterogeneous compound of 
sheer, naked nonsense and rank bombast. We shall examine the first 
verse, that which we have already submitted to scansion, and then, 
if any one deems Mr. G. a competent judge of true poetry, we hope 
he will inflict one of his collections upon him annually. Now for it ! 

"The summer sun has sunk to rest 

Below the green-clad hills, 
And through the skies careering fast, 
The storm-cloud rides upon the blast. 

And now the rain distills." 

We pause to credit Mr. G. with a new idea — the clouds distilling 
rain. We have heard of men distilling whiskey, alcohol, &c., but 
never before of clouds distilling rain. 

"The flash we see, the peal we hear, 
With winds blent in their wild career, 
Till pains the ear." 



APPENDIX 253 

"The flash" of what do we see? "The peal" of what do "we hear?" 
Is lightning and thunder to be understood, or is it the flash and peal 
of the storm? If the latter is meant, it is another new idea. If the 
former — but it is not said, — how can "winds" be "blent in" with a 
flash of lightning? Mr. G., Mr. G., you are as mystical as Kant, and 
as incomprehensible as Wordsworth, without possessing the slightest 
claim to the common sense of either. 

"It is the voice of the storm-king 
Riding upon the lightning's wing." 
We are now informed that this "blent in" mixture is 
. . . "the voice of the Storm-King 
Riding upon the lightning's wing;" 

and we are happy to hear it. It is no wonder dairy-women complain 
of their milk being curdled the morning after a storm. 

"Leading his bannered's hosts along the sky, 
And drenching with his floods the sterile lands and dry." 

Is this even good grammar? Is it "the voice" or "the Storm-King" 
"leading his banner'd hosts along the sky' ' ? Tell us that ! 

Did any one ever read such nonsense? We never did, and shall 
hereafter eschew everything that bears Rufus Wilmot Griswold's 
name, as strongly as the Moslemite the forbidden wine, or the Jew 
the "unmentionable flesh." But we must say, ere we leave the "Sun- 
set Storm," that, with the exception of Mathews' "Wakondah," Pop 
Emmons' "Fredoniad," and some portions of Hoffman's "Vigil of 
Faith," the world never even saw such balderdash. 

We defined Poetry "to be the rhythmJcal personification of existing 
or ideal beauty"; and here we shall give a vivid example of our idea, 
an example which even Mr. Griswold acknowledges "to possess a 
statue-like definitiveness and warmth of coloring." It is the "Sleep- 
ing Beauty," by Tennyson, — the most perfect conception of loveli- 
ness we ever saw, or ever expect to see, and had Tennyson written 
nothing else, it would have made him immortal. 

"Year after year unto her feet, 

(She lying on her couch alone,) 
Along the purple coverlet 
The maiden's jet-black hair has grown ; 
On eithe' side her tranced form 



254 APPENDIX 

Forth streaming from a braid of pearl; 
The slumbrous light is rich and warm. 
And moves not on the rounded curl. 

The silk, star-broider'd coverlet 

Unto her limbs itself doth mould 
Languidly ever; and, amid 

The full black ringlets downward rolled. 
Clows forth each softly-shadow d arm 

With bracelets of the diamond bright; 
Her constant beauty doth inform 

Stillness with love, and day with light. 

She sleeps! her breathings are not heard. 

In palace chambers far apart, 
The fragrant tresses are not stirred 

That lie upon her charmed heart. 
She sleeps! on either hand up swells. 

The gold-fringd pillow lightly prest: 
She sleeps, nor dreams, but ever dwells, 

A perfect form, in perfect rest." 

In the first place, this is a legitimate subject of poerty, finished 
with the highest artistical skill, burning with genius and ideality, and 
secondly it conveys to the mind in the very title that richest image of 
loveliness — a sleeping woman ! Words cannot convey our conception 
of its beauty, nor our homage to the genius of its author. The itali- 
cized lines are the finest passages. 

Now for Mr. Griswold's critical powers. We shall quote some few 
passages from one of his latest reviews, and that on the works of the 
author of the Charmed Sleeper, — Alfred Tennyson, whose genius and 
originality have excited the wonder and admiration of the best critics 
in Europe, and the imitative faculties of the principal poets of Amer- 
ica. "His chief characteristics pertaining to style, they will not long 
attract regard." Here we have a gross grammatical error — two 
nominatives to one verb, "characteristics" and "they" to "will." "He 
tricks out common thoughts in dresses so unique it is not always easy 
to identify them." (Is not this originality? yet in the next portion 
of the sentence we hear this sapient critic say,) "but we have not seen 
in his works proofs of an original mind." (0 temporal mores! This 
Griswold says of Tennyson!) Again, "as a versifier, Holmes is equal to 



APPENDIX 255 

Tennyson, and with the same patient effort would every way surpass 
him." (We advise Dr. Holmes, who does possess some merit as a 
versifier, to beg Mr. G. not to puff" him, or he may depend upon his 
poem3 being incontinently d — d.) "We desire none of his compan- 
ionship!" (Don t you hope you may get it?) "Him who ^fo/e at first 
hand from Keats." Well, if this is not the height of assurance we 
don't know what assurance is, coming as it does from one of the most 
clumsy of literary thieves, and who, in his wildest aspirations, never 
even dreamed of an original thought. A man who does not under- 
stand the first principles of versification, the author of the "Sunset 
Storm" ; and to speak thus of such a man as Tennyson, the author of 
the Sleeping Beauty we have just quoted! We can only say to Mr. 
Griswold, Jove protect us from hijs reviewing, and the public from 
what he deems exquisite. These remarks are from a man whose ex- 
travagant praise of Puffer Hopkins, one of the most abortive emana- 
tions ever issued from an American press, has been the daily ridicule 
of the whole community, and even of his own most intimate friends. 
A book which he stamps "as original," which is the most palpable 
imitation of Boz's style, and like all imitations, only so upon the 
surface, wanting anything like genuine wit, pathos, or profundity, 
whose serious passages are extremely ridiculous, and whose comic 
wonderfully tragic. 

Now for the Book! the "Poets and Poetry of America." As re- 
gards its typography and execution, it is very, very neat, and the lines 
around give a compactness and finish perfectly desirable to the ap- 
pearance of its pages. 

Let us commence with the delectable matter which constitutes 
Mr. Griswold's original portion of the "Poets of America." In the 
first place we have the preface. 

"It is said that the princif^les of our fathers are beginning to be re- 
garded with indifference." Who has said this, Mr. G. ? Is the name or 
the principles of a Washington or Jefferson beginning to be obliterated 
in our hearts? Does not every American's bosom burn when he reads 
their names, or hears them promulgated from the rostrum? And the 
bursting huzzas from every lip at such a moment as the last, how well 
they speak that "the principles of our fathers are beginning to be 
regarded with indifference." Is "love of country decaying, and are 
"the affections of our people in that transition state from the simplicity 
of Democracy to the gilded shows of Aristocratic government?" Perish the 
scandal! "Our national tastes and feelings are fashioned by the subject 
of kings." Are we to understand this as a poetical license or not, for 



256 APPENDIX 

with these facts staring us in the face we cannot but imagine you've 
told a good many poetical lies since you have been in the business? 
If — and you assert it in set round terms — you think so, you are wrong. 
They are not so ; at least by the majority, though they may be by the 
foolish few miscalled '\he first circle of society!" — the worshippers of 
an Ellsler, a Morpeth, or an Ashburton, whose only merit is their 
wealth, and whose intellects rarely expand beyond the cut of a coat 
or the fashion of a mantilla. After reading such opinions promulgated, 
who can think our compiler a fit man to judge of American poetry, 
even had he possessed the competency. But Mr. G. is going to 
Europe, and there his opinions will meet with support. 

Let us proceed. Ah! what have we here? ^^The -creation of beauty, 
the manifestation of the real by the ideal, in words that move in metrical 
array, is poetry." Now what is this but a direct amplification by our 
poet, of the definition of poetry — ''the rhythmical creation of beauty" — 
which appeared in Mr. Poe's critique on Professor Longfellow's bal- 
lads, from which we know, and he knows, he stole it. 

Well, we have looked over the book, and we find it just such a re- 
sult as might be anticipated. The biographies are miserably written, 
and as to the criticisms on style, they are certainly not critiques 
raisonnes, and that simply because reason and thinking are entirely 
out of Mr. G. 's sphere. As to the different degrees of merit allotted to 
each author, we cannot help thinking it possible, but we will not say 
it, that sub rosa arrangements were made, and a proportionable 
quantity of fame allotted, in consideration of the quid pro quo re- 
ceived. Besides, the whole work is not even a specimen of the Poets 
and Poetry of America; and in giving it our unqualified condemna- 
tion, we only cite the opinion of all, even to the Poets who have been 
so unfortunate as to figure in its pages, and we are satisfied our review 
will be met with vivas wherever the book has been seen or read. 

Now we want to know one thing: Is writing Poetry the exclusive 
privilege of the aristocracy of our country? for we are so led to imagine 
by finding no poor writers in this work. No ! They are all * 'descended 
from ancient and honored families," "the sons of wealthy members of 
the Society of Friends," or of "eminent lawyers," or "wealthy mer- 
chants," "wealthy lawyers," themselves, &zc., &c.,ad infinitum. How 
comes this? It is answered in a word. Mr. G. belongs to the class 
called "toady"; and as he is very ambitious of one day acquiring 
a position, can have no fellow-feeling for the class he would leave 
behind him. To this, and this alone, (and Mr. G. knows we speak — 
and it is as unpleasant for us to say as it is for him to hear it — the 



APPENDIX 257 

truth,) two thirds of the poets owe even the transitory reputation they 
have acquired in this miserable book. And now that we feel in the 
vein, we shall propound to Mr. Griswold a few questions. Why was 
Robert Tyler, the author of Ahasuerus, &c., omitted? Why was 
Frederick W. Thomas insulted with a place as the author of one song, 
among the miscellaneous writers, after his having been written to, 
and "his biography and best articles" solicited? Was it not because 
he did not obey your dictatorial and impertinent request to write for 
you the biography of Mrs. Welby? Answer us that, Mr. Griswold! 
How comes it that C. Fenno Hoffman is the greatest poet in America, 
and that his articles figure more than two to one over Bryant, and 
ten to one over Lowell, Longfellow, 6zc. ? Why were Edward Everett, 
LL.D., John Quincy Adams, Samuel Woodworth, (the insult might 
have been spared the dying poet,) Robert M. Bird, M. D., J. K. 
Mitchell, M. D., Sarah G. Hale, George P. Morris, Rev. William B. 
Tappan, Catharine H. Esling (or Miss Waterman, as she is better 
known), Horace Greeley, Seba Smith, Charles West Thompson, Rev. 
Charles W. Everest, Lieut. G. W. Patten, William Wallace (author 
of the Star Lyra, 6zc.), Mrs. Francis S. Osgood (one of our sweetest 
poetesses), James N. Barker, 6zc., &zc., classed under the head of 
"various authors," thereby throwing openly the charge of their in- 
competency to sustain the name of Poets, and implying that they 
were only occasional scribblers? (This, and of such men, is again 
from Rufus Wilmot Griswold !) 

Are there no such persons in existence as Anna Cora Mowatt, 
Lydia J. Pierson, Juliet H. Lewis, Mrs. Harriet Muzzy, Mrs. E. S. 
Stedman, 8zc.? And if so, have they never written poetry? And if 
they have, why are they omitted? 

Shame on such black injustice, which is made the blacker by im- 
posing men, of whom no one ever heard out of their own parlors, 
upon the public as poets, and that above their superiors in genius, 
talent, artistical skill, and brilliant flow of ideality and language! 

Again, how came you to alter Dr. J. K. Mitchell's song in such a 
manner that the author scarcely knows his own production? Just 
think of the impudence of the thing — ^Rufus Wilmot Griswold alter- 
ing a production of Dr. J. K. Mitchell! And now that we are in our 
own city, has it no poets? Are Dr. Mitchell, C. West Thompson, and 
Catharine H. Esling only worthy to appear in one article in your 
contemptible appendix? Where is the Hon. Robert T. Conrad? You 
surely could not have forgotten him, for his "Aylmere" has been the 
most successful of American Tragedies, and he is the author of some of 



258 APPENDIX 

the finest poems known in American literature. Where is Professor 
Walter, Morton McMichael, Robert Morris (another sweet poet), 
the Rev. T. H. Stockton, and Dr. English? How came you to forget 
Mr. Spear, who was once placed by the Courier, if we remember 
aright, close to Shakspeare, and somewhere between Cowper and 
Goldsmith? We might name others. However, all these gentlemen 
should be gratified at their non-appearance in the volume before us, 
for if ever such a thing as literary ruin existed, or exists, nine tenths 
of the Poets ( !) of America are ruined forever by the praise of Mr. 
Griswold ! This is our unvarnished opinion ; and as we have estab- 
lished the fact of our knowing something of Poetry and its concomi- 
tants, and that Mr. Griswold is as ignorant of it and them as a 
Kikapoo Indian, we fancy it will pass for current coin. 

But to close this affair. Had Mr. Griswold the genius of a Shakes- 
peare, the powers of a Milton, or the critical learning of a Macaulay, 
he could not stem the torrent of animadversion this book has raised; 
but must be overwhelmed by the tide of public disapprobation which 
has set in so strongly upon him ; but as he has neither the one nor the 
other, what will be his fate? Forgotten, save only by those whom he 
has injured and insulted, he will sink into oblivion, without leaving a 
landmark to tell that he once existed; or, if he is spoken of hereafter, 
he will be quoted as the unfaithful servant who abused his trust. 



APPENDIX B 

GRAHAM'S REPLY TO THE 

OBITUARY THAT APPEARED IN THE "NEW YORK 

TRIBUNE" SIGNED "LUDWIG" 

Reprinted from "Graham's Magazine," March, 1850 

My Dear Willis,— 

In an article of yours which accompanies the two beautiful 
volumes of the writings of Edgar Allan Poe, you have spoken with 
so much truth and delicacy of the deceased, and, with the magical 
touch of genius, have called so warmly up before me the memory 
of our lost friend as you and I both seem to have known him, that 
I feel warranted in addressing to you the few plain words I have 
to say in defence of his character as set down by Mr. Griswold. 

Although the article, it seems, appeared originally in the New 
York Tribune, it met my eye for the first time in the volumes 
before me. I now purpose to take exception to it in the most 
public manner. I knew Mr. Poe well, far better than Mr. Gris- 
wold; and by the memory of old times, when he was an editor 
of "Graham," I pronounce this exceedingly ill-timed and un- 
appreciative estimate of the character of our lost friend, unfair 
and untrue. It is Mr. Poe as seen by the writer while laboring under 
a fit of the nightmare, but so dark a picture has no resemblance to 
the living man. Accompanying these beautiful volumes, it is an 
immortal infamy, the death's head over the entrance to the garden 
of beauty, a horror that clings to the brow of morning, whispering 
of murder. It haunts the memory through every page of his writ- 
ings, leaving upon the heart a sensation of utter gloom, a feeling 
almost of terror. The only relief we feel is in knowing that it is not 
true, that it is a fancy sketch of a perverted, jaundiced vision. 
The man who could deliberately say of Edgar Allan Poe, in a 
notice of his life and writings prefacing the volumes which were 
to become a priceless souvenir to all who loved him, that his 
death might startle many, "but that few would be grieved by it," 
and blast the whole fame of the man by such a paragraph as fol- 
lows, is a judge dishonored. He is not Mr. Poe's peer, and I 
challenge him before the country even as a juror in the case: 



260 APPENDIX 

"His harsh experience had deprived him of all faith in man or woman. He 
had made up his mind upon the numberless complexities of the social world, and 
the whole system with him was an imposture. This conviction gave a direction to 
his shrewd and naturally unamiable character. Still, though he regarded society 
as composed altogether of villains, the sharpness of his intellect was not of that 
kind which enabled him to cope with villainy, while it continually caused him, 
by overshots, to fail of the success of honesty. He was in many respects like 
Francis Vivian in Bulwer's novel of 'The Caxtons.' Passion, in him, comprehended 
many of the worst emotions which militate against human happiness. You could 
not contradict him, but you raised quick choler; you could not speak of wealth, 
but his cheek paled with gnawing envy. The astonishing natural advantages of this 
poor boy, — his beauty, his readiness, the daring spirit that breathed around him 
like a fiery atmosphere, had raised his constitutional self-confidence into an 
arrogance that turned his very claims to admiration into prejudices against him. 
Irascible, envious, bad enough, but not the worst, for these salient angles were all 
varnished over with a cold, repellant cynicism ; his passions vented themselves in 
sneers. There seemed to him no moral susceptibility; and, what was more remark- 
able in a proud nature, little or nothing of the true point of honor. He had, to a 
morbid excess, that desire to rise which is vulgarly called ambition, but no wish 
for the esteem or the love of his species; only the hard wish to succeed, — not 
shine, nor serve, — succeed, that he might have the right to despise a world which 
galled his self-conceit." 

Now this is dastardly, and, what is worse, it is false. It is very 
adroitly done, with phrases very well turned, and with gleams of 
truth shining out from a setting so dusky, as to look devilish. 
Mr. Griswold does not feel the worth of the man he has under- 
valued; he had no sympathies in common with him, and has 
allowed old prejudices and old enmities to steal, insensibly per- 
haps, into the coloring of his picture. They were for years totally 
uncongenial, if not enemies, and during that period Mr. Poe, in a 
scathing lecture upon "The Poets of America," gave Mr. Gris- 
wold some raps over the knuckles of force sufficient to be remem- 
bered. He had, too, in the exercise of his functions as critic, put 
to death summarily the literary reputation of some of Mr. Gris- 
wold's best friends; and their ghosts cried in vain for him to 
avenge them during Poe's lifetime; and it almost seems as if the 
present hacking at the cold remains of him who struck them down, 
is a sort of compensation for duty long delayed, for reprisal long 
desired, but deferred. But without this, the opportunities afforded 
Mr. Griswold to estimate the character of Poe occurred, in the 
main, after his stability had been wrecked, his whole nature in a 
degree changed, and with all his prejudices aroused and active. 
Nor do I consider Mr. Griswold competent, with all the opportuni- 
ties he may have cultivated or acquired, to act as his judge, to 



APPENDIX 261 

dissect that subtle and singularly fine intellect, to probe the mo- 
tives and weigh the actions of that proud heart. His whole nature, 
that distinctive presence of the departed, which now stands im- 
palpable, yet in strong outline before me, as I knew him and felt 
him to be, eludes the rude grasp of a mind so warped and uncon- 
genial as Mr. Griswold's. / 

But it may be said, my dear Willis, that Mr. Poe himself deputed 
him to act as his literary executor, and that he must have felt 
some confidence, in his ability at least, if not in his integrity, to 
perform the functions imposed, with discretion and honor. I do 
not purpose, now, to enter into any examination of the appoint- 
ment of Mr. Griswold, nor of the wisdom of his appointment, to 
the solemn trust of handing the fair fame of the deceased, unim- 
paired, to that posterity to which the dying poet bequeathed his 
legacy, but simply to question its faithful performance. Among 
the true friends of Poe in this city — and he had some such here — 
there are those, I am sure, that he did not class among villains; 
nor do they feel easy when they see their old friend dressed out, in 
his grave, in the habiliments of a scoundrel. There is something 
to them in this mode of procedure on the part of the literary 
executor that does not chime in with their notions of "the true 
point of honor." They had all of them looked upon our departed 
friend as singularly indifferent to wealth for its own sake, but as 
very positive in his opinions that the scale of social merit was not 
of the highest; that mind, somehow, was apt to be left out of the 
estimate altogether; and, partaking somewhat of his free way of 
thinking, his friends are startled to find they have entertained 
very unamiable convictions. As to his "quick choler" when he was 
contradicted, it depended a good deal upon the party denying, as 
well as upon the subject discussed. He was quick, it is true, to 
perceive mere quacks in literature, and somewhat apt to be hasty 
when pestered with them; but upon most other questions his 
natural amiability was not easily disturbed. Upon a subject that 
he understood thoroughly, he felt some right to be positive, if not 
arrogant, when addressing pretenders. His "astonishing natural 
advantages" had been very assiduously cultivated; his "daring 
spirit" was the anointed of genius; his self-confidence the proud 
conviction of both; and it was with something of a lofty scorn 
that he attacked, as well as repelled, a crammed scholar of the 
hour, who attempted to palm upon him his ill-digested learning. 
Literature with him was religion; and he, its high priest, with a 



262 APPENDIX 

whip of scorpions, scourged the money-changers from the temple. 
In all else, he had the docility and kind-heartedness of a child. 
No man was more quickly touched by a kindness, none more 
prompt to return for an injury. For three or four years I knew 
him intimately, and for eighteen months saw him almost daily, 
much of the time writing or conversing at the same desk, knowing 
all his hopes, his fears, and little annoyances of life, as well as his 
high-hearted struggle with adverse fate; yet he was always the 
same polished gentleman, the quiet, unobtrusive, thoughtful 
scholar, the devoted husband, frugal in his personal expenses, 
punctual and unwearied in his industry, and the soul of honor in 
all his transactions. This, of course, was in his better days, and 
by them z^e judge the man. But even after his habits had changed, 
there was no literary man to whom I would more readily advance 
money for labor to be done. He kept his accounts, small as they 
were, with the accuracy of a banker. I append an account sent to 
me in his own hand, long after he had left Philadelphia, and after 
all knowledge of the transactions it recited had escaped my mem- 
ory. I had returned him the story of "The Gold Bug," at his own 
request, as he found that he could dispose of it very advanta- 
geously elsewhere : — 

We were square when I sold you the "Versification" article, for which you 

gave me, first, $25, and afterwards $7— in all $32 00 

Then you bought "The Gold Bug" for 52 00 

I got both these back, so that I owed $84.00 

You lent Mrs. Clemm 12 50 

Making in all $96 50 

The review of "Flaccus" was 3 3-4 pp., which, at $4,is . . $1 5 00 

Lowell's poem is 10 00 

The review of Charming, 4 pp., is $16, of which I got $6, leaving 10 00 
The review of Halleck, 4 pp., is $16, of which I got $10, leaving 6 00 

The review of Reynolds, 2 pp 8 00 

The review of Longfellow, 5 pp., is $20, of which I got $10, leaving 10 00 

So that I have paid in all 59 00 

Which leaves still due by me $37 50 

This, I find, was his uniform habit with others as well as myself, 
carefully recalling to mind his indebtedness with the fresh article 
sent. And this is the man who had "no moral susceptibility," and 
little or nothing of the "true point of honor." It may be a very 
plain business view of the question, but it strikes his friends that it 
may pass as something, as times go. 



APPENDIX 263 

I shall never forget how solicitous of the happiness of his wife 
and mother-in-law he was whilst one of the editors of "Graham's 
Magazine;'^ his whole efforts seemed to be to procure the comfort 
and welfare of his home. Except for their happiness, and the 
natural ambition of having a magazine of his own, I never heard 
him deplore the want of wealth. The truth is, he cared little for 
money, and knew less of its value, for he seemed to have no per- 
sonal expenses. What he received from me, in regular monthly 
instalments, went directly into the hands of his mother-in-law 
for family comforts, and twice only I remember his purchasing 
some rather expensive luxuries for his house, and then he was 
nervous to the degree of misery until he had, by extra articles, 
covered what he considered an imprudent indebtedness. His love 
for his wife was a sort of rapturous worship of the spirit of beauty 
which he felt was fading before his eyes. I have seen him hovering 
around her when she was ill, with all the fond fear and tender 
anxiety of a mother for her first-born, her slightest cough causing 
in him a shudder, a heart-chill that was visible. I rode out, one 
summer evening, with them, and the remembrance of his watch- 
ful eyes eagerly bent upon the slightest change of hue in that loved 
face haunts me yet as the memory of a sad strain. It was the 
hourly anticipation of her loss that made him a sad and thought- 
ful man, and lent a mournful melody to his undying song. 

It is true, that later in life Poe had much of those morbid feel- 
ings which a life of poverty and disappointment is so apt to en- 
gender in the heart of man — the sense of having been ill-used, mis- 
understood, and put aside by men of far less ability, and of none, 
which preys upon the heart and clouds the brain of many a child 
of song. A consciousness of the inequalities of life, and of the 
abundant power of mere wealth, allied even to vulgarity, to over- 
ride all distinctions, and to thrust itself, bedaubed with dirt and 
glittering with tinsel, into the high places of society, and the 
chief seats of the synagogue; whilst he, a worshipper of the beau- 
tiful and true, who listened to the voices of angels and held de- 
lighted companionship with them as the cold throng swept dis- 
dainfully by him, was often in danger of being thrust out, house- 
less, homeless, beggared, upon the world, with all his fine feelings 
strung to a tension of agony when he thought of his beautiful and 
delicate wife, dying hourly before his eyes. What wonder that he 
then poured out the vials of a long-treasured bitterness upon the 
injustice and hollowness of all society around him. 



264 APPENDIX 

The very natural question "Why did he not work and thrive?" 
is easily answered. It will not be asked by the many who know the 
precarious tenure by which literary men hold a mere living in this 
country. The avenues through which they can profitably reach 
the country are few, and crowded with aspirants for bread, as well 
as fame. The unfortunate tendency to cheapen every literary work 
to the lowest point of beggarly flimsiness in price and profit, pre- 
vents even the well-disposed from extending anything like an 
adequate support to even a part of the great throng which genius, 
talent, education, and even misfortune, force into the struggle. 
The character of Poe's mind was of such an order as not to be very 
widely in demand. The class of educated mind which he could 
readily and profitably address was small — the channels through 
which he could do so at all were few — and publishers all, or nearly 
all, contented with such pens as were already engaged, hesitated 
to incur the expense of his to an extent which would sufficiently 
remunerate him; hence, when he was fairly at sea, connected per- 
manently with no publication, he suffered all the horrors of pro- 
spective destitution, with scarcely the ability of providing for 
immediate necessities; and at such moments, alas! the tempter 
often came, and as you have truly said, ''one glass' of wine made 
him a madman. Let the moralist, who stands upon "tufted carpet," 
and surveys his smoking board, the fruits of his individual toil or 
mercantile adventure, pause before he let the anathema, tremb- 
ling upon his lips, fall upon a man like Poe, who, wandering from 
publisher to publisher, with his fine, print-like manuscript, 
scrupulously clean and neatly rolled, finds no market for his brain 
— with despair at heart, misery ahead, for himself and his loved 
ones, and gaunt famine dogging at his heels, thus sinks by the way- 
side, before the demon that watches his steps and whispers 
oblivion. Of all the miseries which God, or his own vices, inflict 
upon man, none are so terrible as that of having the strong and 
willing arm struck down to a childlike inefficiency, while the Heart 
and the Will have the purpose of a giant's out-doing. We must 
remember, too, that the very organization of such a mind as that 
of Poe — the very tension and tone of his exquisitely strung nerves 
— the passionate yearnings of his soul for the beautiful and true, 
utterly unfitted him for the rude jostlings and fierce competitor- 
ship of trade. The only drafts of his that could be honored were 
those upon his brain. The unpeopled air — the caverns of ocean — 
the decay and mystery that hang around old castles — the thunder 



APPENDIX 265 

of wind through the forest aisles — the spirits that rode the blast, 
by all but him unseen, and the deep, metaphysical creations 
which floated through the chambers of his soul — were his only 
wealth, the High Change where only his signature was valid for 
rubies. 

Could he have stepped down and chronciled small beer, made 
himself the shifting toady of the hour, and, with bow and cringe, 
hung upon the steps of greatness, sounding the glory of third-rate 
ability with a penny trumpet, he would have been feted alive, and 
perhaps been praised when dead. But, no! his views of the duty of 
the critic were stern, and he felt that in praising an unworthy 
writer he committed dishonor. His pen was regulated by the 
highest sense of duty. By a keen analysis he separated and studied 
each piece which the skilful mechanist had put together. No part, 
however insignificant or apparently unimportant, escaped the 
rigid and patient scrutiny of his sagacious mind. The unfitted 
joint proved the bungler — the slightest blemish was a palpable 
fraud. He was the scrutinizing lapidary, who detected and exposed 
the most minute flaw in diamonds. The gem of first water shone 
the brighter for the truthful setting of his calm praise. He had the 
finest touch of soul for beauty — a delicate and hearty appreciation 
of worth. If his praise appeared tardy, it was of priceless value 
when given. It was true as well as sincere. It was the stroke of 
honor that at once knighted the receiver. It was in the world of 
mind that he was king; and, with a fierce audacity, he felt and pro- 
claimed himself autocrat. As critic, he was despotic, supreme. 
Yet no man with more readiness would soften a harsh expression 
at the request of a friend, or if he himself felt that he had infused 
too great a degree of bitterness into his article, none would more 
readily soften it down after it was in type — though still maintain- 
ing the justness of his critical views. I do not believe that he wrote 
to give pain; but in combating what he conceived to be error, he 
used the strongest word that presented itself, even in conversation. 
He labored not so much to reform as to exterminate error, and 
thought the shortest process was to pull it up by the roots. 

He was a worshipper of intellect — longing to grasp the power of 
mind that moves the stars — to bathe his soul in the dreams of 
seraphs. He was himself all ethereal, of a fine essence, that moved 
in an atmosphere of spirits,of spiritual beauty, overflowing and 
radiant — twin-brother with the angels, feeling their flashing wings 
upon his heart, and almost clasping them in his embrace. Of them, 



266 APPENDIX 

and as an expectant archangel of that high order of intellect, 
stepping out of himself, as it were, and interpreting the time he 
revelled in delicious luxury in a world beyond, with an audacity 
which we fear in madmen, but in genius worship as the inspiration 
of heaven. 

But my object, in throwing together a few thoughts upon the 
chracter of Edgar Allan Poe, was not to attempt an elaborate 
criticism, but to say what might palliate grave faults that have 
been attributed to him and to meet by facts unjust accusation; 
in a word, to give a mere outline of the man as he lived before me. 
I think I am warranted in saying to Mr Griswold that he must 
review his decision. It will not stand the calm scrutiny of his own 
judgment, or of time, while it must be regarded by all the friends 
of Mr. Poe as an ill-judged and misplaced calumny upon that 
gifted son of genius. 

Yours truly, 

Geo. R. Graham. 
Philadelphia, February 2, 1850. 

To N. P. Willis, Esq. 



APPENDIX C 

GRISWOLD'S "MEMOIR"OF POE 

PUBLISHED IN "THE LITERATI," THE THIRD VOLUME 

OF POE'S COMPLETE WORKS, WITH "PREFACE" 

NOTE : Regarding the following letters Griswold asserts Poe wrote 
him, and that he published as proof of their friendship, Woodbury, 
who edited the Poe-Griswold MSS. states: "Of these letters two 
originals only were among the Griswold MSS. and both varied 
materially from the printed text." 

PREFACE 

Hitherto I have not written or published a syllable upon the subject of Mr. 
Poe's life, character, or genius, since I was informed, some ten days after his 
death, of my appointment to be his literary executor. I did not suppose I was 
debarred from the expression of any feelings or opinions in the case by the accept- 
ance of this office, the duties of which I regarded as simply the collection of his 
works, and their publication, for the benefit of the rightful inheritors of his 
property, in a form and manner that would probably have been most agreeable 
to his own wishes. I would gladly have declined a trust imposing so much labor, 
for I had been compelled by ill health to solicit the indulgence of my publishers, 
who had many thousand dollars invested in an unfinished work under my direc- 
tion; but when I was told by several of Mr. Poe's most intimate friends — among 
others by the family of S. D. Lewis, Esq., to whom in his last years he was under 
greater obligations than to any or to all others — that he had long been in the 
habit of expressing a desire that in the event of his death I should be his editor, 
I yielded to the apparent necessity, and proceeded immediately with the prepara- 
tion of the two volumes which have heretofore been published. But I had, at 
the request of the Editor of "The Tribune," written hastily a few paragraphs 
about Mr. Poe, which appeared in that paper with the telegraphic communi- 
cation of his death; and two or three of these paragraphs having been quoted 
by Mr. N. P. Willis, in his Notice of Mr. Poe, were as a part of that Notice 
unavoidably reprinted in the volume of the deceased author's Tales. And my 
unconsidered and imperfect, but, as every one who knew its subject readily 
perceived, very kind article, was now vehemently attacked. A writer under the 
signature of "George R. Graham," in a sophomorical and trashy but widely 
circulated Letter, denounced it as "the fancy sketch of a jaundiced vision," 
"an immortal infamy," and its composition a "breach of trust." And to excuse 
his five months' silence, and to induce a belief that he did not know that what 
I had written was already published before I could have been advised that I was 
to be Mr. Poe's executor, (a condition upon which all the possible force of his 
Letter depends,) this silly and ambitious person, while represented as enter- 



268 APPENDIX 

taining a friendship really passionate in its tenderness for the poor author, 
(of whom in four years of his extremest poverty he had not purchased for his 
magazine a single line,) is made to say that in half a year he had not seen so notice- 
able an article, — though within a week after Mr. Poe's death it appeared in 
The Tribune, in The Home Journal, in three of the daily papers of his own city, 
and in The Saturday Evening Post, of which he was or had been himself one of 
the chief proprietors and editors! And Mr. John Neal, too, who had never had 
even the slightest personal acquaintance with Poe in his life, rushes from a sleep 
which the public had trusted was eternal, to declare that my characterization 
of Poe (which he is pleased to describe as "poetry, exalted poetry, poetry of 
astonishing and original strength") is false and malicious, and that I am a "calumi- 
niator," a "Rhadamanthus," etc. Both these writers — John Neal following the 
author of the Letter signed "George R. Graham" — not only assume what I 
have shown to be false, (that the remarks on Poes character were written by 
me as his executor,) but that there was a long, intense, and implacable enmity 
betwixt Poe and myself, which disqualified me for the office of his biographer. 
This scarcely needs an answer after the poet's dying request that I should be 
his editor; but the manner in which it has been urged, will, I trust, be a sufficient 
excuse for the following demonstration of its absurdity 

My acquaintance with Mr. Poe commenced in the spring of 1841. He called 
at my hotel, and not finding me at home, left two letters of introduction. The 
next morning I visited him, and we had a long conversation about literature and 
literary men, pertinent to the subject of a book, "The Poets and Poetry of Amer- 
ica," which I was then preparing for the press. The following letter was sent to 
me a few days afterwards: 

Philadelphia, March 29. 

R. W. Griswold, Esq. : My Dear Sir: — On the other leaf I send such poems as I 
think my best, from which you can select any which please your fancy. I should 
be proud to see one or two of them in your book. The one called "The Haunted 
Palace" is that of which I spoke in reference to Professor Longfellow's plagiarism. 
I first published the "H. P." in Brooks's "Museum," a monthly journal at Balti- 
more, now dead. Afterwards, I embodied it in a tale called "The House of Usher," 
in Burton's magazine. Here it was, I suppose, that Professor Longfellow saw it; 
for, about six weeks afterwards, there appeared in the "Southern Literary Mes- 
senger" a poem by him called "The Beleaguered City," which may now be found 
in his volume. The identity in title is striking; for by "The Haunted Palace" 
I mean to imply a mind haunted by phantoms — a disordered brain — and by the 
"Beleaguered City" Prof. L. means just the same. But the whole tournure of the 
poem is based upon mine, as you will see at once. Its allegorical conduct, the 
style of its versification and expression — all are mine. As I understood you to say 
that you meant to preface each set of poems by some biographical notice, I have 
ventured to send you the above memoranda — the particulars of which (in a case 
where an author is so little known as myself) might not be easily obtained else- 
where. "The Coliseum" was the prize poem alluded to. 

With high respect and esteem, I am your obedient servant, 

Edgar A. Poe. 

The next is without date: 

My Dear Sir — I made use of your name with Carey & Hart, for a copy of your 
book, and am writing a review of it, which I shall send to Lowell for "The Pioneer." 



APPENDIX 269 

I like it decidedly. It is of immense importance, as a guide to what we have done: 
but you have permitted your good nature to influence you to a degree: I would 
have omitted at least a dozen whom you have quoted, and I can think of five or 
six that should have been in. But with all its faults — you see I am perfectly frank 
with you — it is a better book than any other man in the United States could have 
made of the materials. This I will say. 

With high respect, I am your obedient servant, 

Edgar A. Poe. 
The next refers to some pecuniary matters : 

Philadelphia, June II, 1843. 
DearGriswold: — Can you not send me $5 . I am sick, and Virginia is almost gone. 
Come and see me. Peterson says you suspect me of a curious anonymous letter. 
I did not write it, but bring it along with you when you make the visit you 
promised to Mrs. Clemm. I will try to fix that matter soon. Could you do anything 
with my note? 

Yours truly, E. A. P. 

Wehadno further correspondence formorethanayear. Inthisperiodhedelivered 
a lecture upon "The Poets and Poetry of America," in which my book under that 
title was, I believe, very sharply reviewed. In the meantime advertisement was 
made of my intention to publish "The Prose Writers of America," and I received, 
one day, just as I was leaving Philadelphia for New- York, the following letter: 

New-York, Jan. 10, 1845. 
Rev. Rufus W. Griswold: Sir — I perceive by a paragraph in the papers, that 
your "Prose Writers of America" is in press. Unless your opinions of my literary 
character are entirely changed, you will, I think, like something of mine, and you 
are welcome to whatever best pleases you, if you will permit me to furnish a cor- 
rected copy; but with your present feelings you can hardly do me justice in any 
criticism, and I shall be glad if you will simply say after my name: "Born 1811; 
published Tales of the Grotesque and the Arabesque in 1839; has resided latterly 
in New- York." Your obedient servant, Edgar A. Poe. 

I find my answer to this among his papers : 

Philadelpnia, Jan. 11, 1845. 

Sir: — Although I have some cause of quarrel with you, as you seem to re- 
member, I do not under any circumstances permit, as you have repeatedly 
charged, my personal relations to influence the expression of my opinions as a 
critic. By the inclosed proof-sheets of what I had written before the reception of 
your note, you will see that I think quite as well of your works as I did when I 
had the pleasure of being Your friend, R. W. Griswold. 

This was not mailed until the next morning; I however left Philadelphia the 
same evening, and in the course of the following day Poe and myself met in the 
office of "The Tribune," but without any recognition. Soon after he received my 
note, he sent the following to my hotel : 

New- York, Jan. 16, 1845. 

DearGriswold — If you will permit me to call you so — your letter occasioned me 
first pain and then pleasure : pain, because it gave me to see that I had lost, through 



270 APPENDIX 

my own folly, an honorable friend; — pleasure, because I saw in it a hope of 
reconciliation. I have been aware, for several weeks, that my reasons for speaking 
of your book as I did (of yourself I have always spoken kindly), were based in the 
malignant slanders of a mischief-maker by profession. Still, as I supposed you 
irreparably offended, I could make no advances when we met at the "Tribune" 
office, although I longed to do so. I know of nothing which would give me more 
sincere pleasure than your accepting these apologies, and meeting me as a friend. 
If you can do this, and forget the past, let me know where I shall call on you — or 
come and see me at the "Mirror" office, any morning about ten. We can then talk 
over the other matters, which, to me at least, are far less important than your 
goodwill. Very truly yours, EdgarA. Poe. 

His next letter is dated February 24, 1 845 : 

My dearCriswold: — A thousand thanks for your kindness in the matter of those 
books, which I could not afford to buy, and had so much need of. Soon after 
seeing you, I sent you, through Zieber, all my poems worth republishing, and I 
presume they reached you. I was sincerely delighted with what you said of them, 
and if you will write your criticism in the form of a preface, I shall be greatly 
obliged to you. I say this not because you praised me ; everybody praises me now : 
but because you so perfectly understand me, or what I have aimed at, in all my 
poems; I did not think you had so much delicacy of appreciation joined with your 
strong sense ; I can say truly that no man's approbation gives me so much pleasure. 
I send you with this another package, also through Zieber, by Burgess & Stringer. 
It contains, in the way of essay, "Mesmeric Revelation," which I would like to 
have go in, even if you have to omit the "House of Usher." I send also corrected 
copies of (in the way of funny criticism, but you don't like this) "Flaccus," which 
conveys a tolerable idea of my style; and of my serious manner "Barnaby Rudge" 
is a good specimen. In the tale line, "The Murders of the Rue Morgue," "The 
Gold Bug," and "The Man that was Used Up," — far more than enough, but you 
can select to suit yourself. I prefer the "G. B." to the "M. in the R. M." I have 
taken a third interest in the "Broadway Journal," and will be glad if you could 
send me anything for it. Why not let me anticipate the book publication of your 
splendid essay on Milton? 

Truly yours, Poe. 

The next is without date : 

DearCriswold: — I return the proofs with many thanks for your attentions. The 
poems look quite as well in the short metres as in the long ones, and I am quite 
content as it is. In "The Sleeper" you have "Forever with unclosed eye" for 
"Forever with unopen'd eye." Is it possible to make the correction? I presume 
you understand that in the repetition of my Lecture on the Poets, (in N.Y.) I left 
out all that was offensive to yourself. I am ashamed of myself that I ever said 
anything of you that was so unfriendly or so unjust ; but what I did say I am con- 
fident has been misrepresented to you. See my notice of C. F. Hoffman's (?) 
sketch of you. Very sincerely yours, Poe. 

On the twenty-sixth of October, 1845, he wrote: 

My dearCriswold: — Will you aid me at a pinch — at one of the greatest pinches 
conceivable? If you will, I will be indebted to you for life. After a prodigious deal 
of manoeuvering, I have succeeded in getting the "Broadway Journal" entirely 



APPENDIX 271 

within my own control. It will be a fortune to me if I can hold it — and I can do it 
easily with a very trifling aid from my friends. May 1 count you as one? Lend me 
$50, and you shall never have cause to regret it. Truly yours, EdgarA.Poe. 

And on the first of November : 

My dear Griswold : — Thank you for the $25. And since you will allow me to draw 
upon you for the other half of what I asked, if it shall be needed at the end of a 
month, I am just as grateful as if it were all in hand, — for my friends here have 
acted generously by me. Don't have any more doubts of my success. I am, by the 
way, preparing an article about you for the B. J ., in which I do you justice — which 
is all you can ask of any one. Ever truly yours, Edgar A. Poe. 

The next is without date, but appears to have been written early in 1849: 
Dear Griswold: — Your uniform kindness leads me to hope that you will attend 

to this little matter of Mrs. L , to whom I truly think you have done less than 

justice. I am ashamed to ask favors of you, to whom I am so much indebted, but 

I have promised Mrs. L this. They lied to you, (if you told what he says 

you told him,) upon the subject of my forgotten Lecture on the American Poets, 
and I take this opportunity to say that what I have always held in conversations 
about you, and what I believe to be entirely true, as far as it goes, is contained 
in my notice of your "Female Poets of America," in the forthcoming "Southern 
Literary Messenger." By glancing at what I have published about you, (Aut. in 
Graham, 1841; Review in Pioneer, 1843; notice in B. Journal, 1845; Letter in 
Int., 1847; and the Review of your Female Poets,) you will see that I have never 
hazarded my own reputation by a disrespectful word of you, though there were, 

as I long ago explained, in consequence of 's false imputation of that beastly 

article to you, some absurd jokes at your expense in the Lecture at Philadelphia. 
Come up and see me: the cars pass within a few rods of the New- York Hotel, 
where I have called two or three times without finding you in. 

Yours truly, Poe. 

I soon after visited him at Fordham, and passed two or three hours with him. 
The only letter he afterward sent me — at least the only one now in my possession 
— follows : 

Dear Griswold — I inclose perfect copies of the lines "For Annie" and "Annabel 
Lee," in hopes that you may make room for them in your new edition. As regards 
"Lenore," (which you were kind enough to say you would insert,) I would prefer 
the concluding stanza to run as here written. . . . It is a point of no great 
importance, but in one of your editions you have given my sister's age instead of 
mine. I was bom in Dec. 1813; my sister, Jan. 1811. [The date of his birth to 
which he refers was printed from his statement in the memoranda referred to 
in the first of the letters here printed. — R. W. G.] Willis, whose good opinion I 
value highly, and of whose good word I have a right to be proud, has done me 
the honor to speak very pointedly in praise of "The Raven." I inclose what he 
said, and if you could contrive to introduce it, you would render me an essential 
favor, and greatly further my literary interests, at a point where I am most 
anxious they should be advanced. Truly yours, E. A. Poe. 

P. S. — Considering my indebtedness to you, can you not sell to Graham or to 



272 APPENDIX 

Godey (with whom, you know, I cannot with the least self-respect again have 
anything to do directly) — can you not sell to one of these men, "Annabel Lee," 
say for $50, and credit me that sum. Either of them could print it before you will 
need it for your book. Mem. The Eveleth you ask about is a Yankee impertinent, 
who, knowing my extreme poverty, has for years pestered me with unpaid letters; 
but I believe almost every literary man of any note has suffered in the same way. 
I am surprised that you have escaped. Poe. 

TTiese are all the letters (unless I have given away some notes of his to auto- 
graph collectors) ever received by me from Mr. Poe. They are a sufficient answer 
to the article by John Neal, and to that under the signature of "George R. 
Graham," which have induced their publication. I did not undertake to dispose 
of the poem of "Annabel Lee," but upon the death of the author quoted it in 
the notice of him in The Tribune, and I was sorry to learn soon after that it had 
been purchased and paid for by the proprietors of both Sartain's Magazine, and 
The Southern Literary Messenger. 

New York, September 2,1850. R.W.G. 



MEMOIR 

The family of Edgar A. Poe was one of the oldest and most reput- 
able in Baltimore. David Poe, his paternal grandfather, was a 
Quartermaster-General in the Maryland line during the Revolution, 
and the intimate friend of Lafayette, who, during his last visit to the 
United States, called personally upon the General's widow, and ten- 
dered her acknowledgments for the services rendered to him by her 
husband. His great-grandfather, John Poe, married in England, 
Jane, a daughter of Admiral James McBride, noted in British naval 
history, and claiming kindred with some of the most illustrious 
English families. His father, David Poe, Jr., the fourth son of the 
Quartermaster-General, was several years a law student in Baltimore, 
but becoming enamored of an English actress, named Elizabeth 
Arnold, whose prettiness and vivacity more than her genius for the 
stage made her a favorite, he eloped with her, and after a short period, 
having married her, became himself an actor. They continued six 
or seven years in the theatres of the principal cities, and finally died, 
within a few weeks of each other, in Richmond, leaving three children, 
Henry, Edgar, and Rosalie, in utter destitution. 

Edgar Poe, who was bom in Baltimore, in January, 1811, was at 
this period of remarkable beauty, and precocious wit. Mr. John 
Allan, a merchant of large fortune and liberal disposition, who had 
been intimate with his parents, having no children of his own, adopted 
him, and it was generally understood among his acquaintances that 



APPENDIX 273 

he intended to make him the heir of his estate. The proud, nervous 
irritability of the boy's nature was fostered by his guardian's well- 
meant but ill-judged indulgence. Nothing was permitted which could 
"break his spirit." He must be the master of his masters, or not 
have any. An eminent and most estimable gentleman of Richmond 
has written to me, that when Poe was only six or seven years of age, 
he went to a school kept by a widow of excellent character, to whom 
was committed the instruction of the children of some of the principal 
families in the city. A portion of the grounds was used for the culti- 
vation of vegetables, and its invasion by her pupils strictly forbidden. 
A trespasser, if discovered, was commonly made to wear, during school 
hours, a turnip or carrot, or something of this sort, attached to his 
neck as a sign of disgrace. On one occasion Poe, having violated the 
rules, was decorated with the promised badge, which he wore in sullen- 
ness until the dismissal of the boys, when, that the full extent of his 
wrong might be understood by his patron, of whose sympathy he 
was confident, he eluded the notice of the schoolmistress, who would 
have relieved him of his esculent, and made the best of his way home, 
with it dangling at his neck. Mr. Allan's anger was aroused, and he 
proceeded instantly to the school-room, and after lecturing the aston- 
ished dame upon the enormity of such an insult to his son and to 
himself, demanded his account, determined that the child should not 
again be subjected to such tyranny. Who can estimate the effect of 
this puerile triumph upon the growth of that morbid self-esteem 
which characterized the author in after life? 

In 1816, he accompanied Mr. and Mrs. Allan to Great Britain, 
visited the most interesting portions of the country, and afterwards 
passed four or five years in a school kept at Stoke Newington, near 
London, by the Rev. Dr. Bransby. In his tale, entitled "William 
Wilson," he has introduced a striking description of this school and 
of his life here. He says: 

"My earliest recollections of a school life are connected with a large, rambling, 
Elizabethan house, in a misty-looking village of England, where were a vast 
number of gigantic and gnarled trees, and where all the houses were excessively 
ancient. In truth, it was a dream-like and spirit-soothing place, that venerable 
old town. At this moment, in fancy, I feel the refreshing chilliness of its deeply 
shadowed avenues, inhale the fragrance of its thousand shrubberies, and thrill 
anew with undefinable delight, at the deep hollow note of the church-bell, break- 
ing, each hour, with sullen and sudden roar, upon the stillness of the dusky 
atmosphere in which the fretted Gothic steeple lay embedded and asleep. It 
gives me, perhaps, as much of pleasure as I can now in any manner experience, 
to dwell upon minute recollections of the school and its concerns. Steeped in 



274 APPENDIX 

misery as I am — misery, alas! only too real — I shall be pardoned for seeking 
relief, however slight and temporary, in the weakness of a few rambling details. 
These, moreover, utterly trivial, and even ridiculous in themselves, assume, to 
my fancy, adventitious importance, as connected with a period and a locality 
when and where I recognize the first ambiguous monitions of the destiny which 
afterwards so fully overshadowed me. Let me then remember. The house, I have 
said, was old and irregular. The grounds were extensive, and a high and solid 
brick wall, topped with a bed of mortar and broken glass, encompassed the whole. 
The prison-like rampart formed the limit of our domain; beyond it we saw but 
thrice a week — once every Saturday afternoon, when, attended by two ushers, 
we were permitted to take brief walks in a body through some of the neighboring 
fields — and twice during Sunday, when we were paraded in the same formal 
manner to the morning and evening service in the one church of the village. 
Of this church the principal of our school was pastor. With how deep a spirit 
of wonder and perplexity was I wont to regard him from our remote pew in the 
gallery, as, with step solemn and slow, he ascended the pulpit! This reverend man, 
with countenance so demurely benign, with robes so glossy and so clerically 
flowing, with wig so minutely powdered, so rigid and so vast, — could this be 
he who, of late, with sour visage, and in snuffy habiliments, administered, ferule in 
hand, the Draconian Laws of the academy. Oh, gigantic paradox, too utterly 
monstrous for solution! At an angle of the ponderous wall frowned a more pon- 
derous gate. It was riveted and studded with iron bolts, and surmounted with 
jagged iron spikes. What impressions of deep awe did it inspire! It was never 
opened save for the three periodical egressions and ingressions already men- 
tioned ; then, in every creak of its mighty hinges, we found a plenitude of mystery 
— a world of matter for solemn remark, or for more solemn meditation. The 
extensive enclosure was irregular in form, having many capacious recesses. Of 
these, three or four of the largest constituted the play ground. It was level, and 
covered with fine gravel. I well remember it had no trees, nor benches, nor any- 
thing similar within it. Of course it was in the rear of the house. In front lay a 
small parterre, planted with box and other shrubs; but through this sacred 
division we passed only upon rare occasions indeed — such as a first advent to 
school or final departure thence, or perhaps, when a parent or friend having 
called for us, we joyfully took our way home for the Christmas or Midsummer 
holidays. But the house! — how quaint an old building was this! — to me how 
veritably a palace of enchantment! There was really no end to its windings — to 
its incomprehensible subdivisions. It was difficult at any given time, to say with 
certainty upon which of its two stories one happened to be. From each room to 
every other there were sure to be found three or four steps either in ascent or 
descent. Then the lateral branches were innumerable — inconceivable — and so 
returning in upon themselves, that our most exact ideas in regard to the whole 
mansion were not very far different from those with which we pondered upon 
infinity. During the five years of my residence here, I was never able to ascertain 
with precision, in what remote locality lay the little sleeping apartment assigned 
to myself and some eighteen or twenty other scholars. The school room was the 
largest in the house — I could not help thinking, in the world. It was very long, 
narrow, and dismally low, with pointed Gothic windows and a ceiling of oak. In 
a remote and terror-inspiring angle was a square enclosure of eight or ten feet, 
comprising the sanctum, 'during hours,* of our principal, the Reverend Dr. 



APPENDIX 275 

Bramsby. It was a solid structure, with massy doors, sooner than open which 
in the absence of the 'Dominie,' we would all have willingly perished by the 
peine forte et dure. In other angles were two other similar boxes, far less rever- 
enced, indeed, but still greatly matters of awe. One of these was the pulpit of 
the 'classical' usher, one of the 'English and mathematical.' Interspersed about 
the room, crossing and recrossing in endless irregularity, were innumerable 
benches and desks, black, ancient, and time-worn, piled desperately with much- 
bethumbed books, and so beseamed with initial letters, names at full length, 
grotesque figures, and other multiplied efforts of the knife, as to have entirely 
lost what little of original form might have been their portion in days long de- 
parted. A huge bucket with water stood at one extremity of the room, and a 
clock of stupendous dimensions at the other. 

"Encompassed by the massy walls of this venerable academy, I passed yet 
not in tedium or disgust, the years of the third lustrum of my life. The teeming 
brain of childhood requires no external world of incident to occupy or amuse it ; 
and the apparently dismal monotony of a school was replete with more intense 
excitement than my riper youth has derived from luxury, or my full manhood 
from crime. Yet I must believe that my first mental development had in it 
much of the uncommon — even much of the outre. Upon mankind at large the 
events of very early existence rarely leave in mature age any definite impression. 
All is gray shadow — a weak and irregular remembrance — an indistinct regather- 
ing of feeble pleasures and phantasmagoric pains. With me this is not so. In 
childhood I must have felt with the energy of a man what I now find stamped 
upon memory in lines as vivid, as deep, and as durable as the exergues of the 
Carthaginian medals. Yet in fact — in the fact of the world's view — how little 
was there to remember. The morning's awakening, the nightly summons to bed ; 
the connings, the recitations; the periodical half-holidays and perambulations; 
the play-ground, with its broils, its pastimes, its intrigues; these, by a mental 
sorcery long forgotten, were made to involve a wilderness of sensation, a world 
of rich incident, an universe of varied emotion, of excitement the most passionate 
and spirit-stirring. "Oh, le ton temps, que ce siecle deferl" 



In 1822, he returned to the United States, and after passing a few 
months at an Academy in Richmond, he entered the University at 
Charlottesville, where he led a very dissipated life; the manners which 
then prevailed there were extremely dissolute, and he was known as 
the wildest and most reckless student of his class; but his unusual 
opportunities, and the remarkable ease with which he mastered the 
most difficult studies, kept him all the while in the first rank for 
scholarship, and he would have graduated with the highest honors, 
had not his gambling, intemperance, and other vices, induced his 
expulsion from the university. 

At this period he was noted for feats of hardihood, strength and 
activity, and on one occasion, in a hot day of June, he swam from 
Richmond to Warwick, seven miles and a half, against a tide running 



276 APPENDIX 

probably from two to three miles an hour.* He was expert at fence, 
had some skill in drawing, and was a ready and eloquent conver- 
sationist and declaimer. 

His allowance of money while at Charlottesville had been liberal, 
but he quitted the place very much in debt, and when Mr. Allan re- 
fused to accept some of the drafts with which he had paid losses in 
gaming, he wrote to him an abusive letter, quitted his house, and soon 
after left the country with the Quixotic intention of joining the 
Greeks, then in the midst of their struggle with the Turks. He never 
reached his destination, and we know but little of his adventures in 
Europe for nearly a year. By the end of this time he had made his 
way to St. Petersburgh, and our Minister in that capital, the late Mr. 
Henry Middleton, of South Carolina, was summoned one morning to 
save him from penalties incurred in a drunken debauch. Through 
Mr. Middleton's kindness he was set at liberty and enabled to return 
to this country. 

His meeting with Mr. Allan was not very cordial, but that gentle- 
man declared himself willing to serve him in any way that should 
seem judicious; and when Poe expressed some anxiety to enter the 
Military Academy, he induced Chief Justice Marshall, Andrew 
Stevenson, General Scott, and other eminent persons, to sign an 
application which secured his appointment to a scholarship in that 
institution. 

Mrs. Allan, whom Poe appears to have regarded with much affec- 
tion, and who had more influence over him than any one else at this 
period, died on the twenty-seventh of February, 1829, which I believe 
was just before Poe left Richmond for West Point. It has been 
erroneously stated by all Poe's biographers, that Mr. Allan was now 
sixty-five years of age, and that Miss Paterson, to whom he was mar- 
ried afterward, was young enough to be his grand-daughter. Mr. 
Allan was in his forty-eighth year, and the difference between his 
age and that of his second wife was not so great as justly to attract 
any observation. 

*This statement was first printed during Mr. Poe's life-time, and its truth 
being questioned in some of the journals, the following certificate was published 
by a distinguished gentlemen of Virginia: 

"I was one of several who witnessed this swimming feat. We accompanied 
Mr. Poe in boats. Messrs. Robert Stannard, John Lyle, (since dead) Robert 
Saunders, John Munford, I think, and one or two others, were also of the party. 
Mr. P. did not seem at all fatigued, and walked back to Richmond immediately 
after the feat — which was undertaken for a wager. "Robert G. Cabell." 



APPENDIX 277 

For a few weeks the cadet applied himself with much assiduity to 
his studies, and he became at once a favorite with his mess and with 
the officers and professors of the Academy; but his habits of dissipa- 
tion were renewed; he neglected his duties and disobeyed orders; and 
in ten months from his matriculation he was cashiered. 

He went again to Richmond, and was received into the family of 
Mr. Allan, who was disposed still to be his friend, and in the event of 
his good behavior to treat him as a son; but it soon became necessary 
to close his doors against him forever. According to Poe s own state- 
ment he ridiculed the marriage of his patron with Miss Paterson, 
and had a quarrel with her; but a different story , *scarcely suitable 
for repetition here, was told by the friends of the other party. What- 
ever the circumstances, they parted in anger, and Mr. Allan from 
that time declined to see or in any way to assist him. Mr. Allan died 
in the spring of 1834, in the fifty-fourth year of his age, leaving 
three children to share his property, of which not a mill was be- 
queathed to Poe. 

Soon after he left West Point, Poe had printed at Baltimore a small 
volume of verses, ("Al Aaraaf," of about four hundred lines, "Tamer- 
lane," of about three hundred lines, with smaller pieces,) and the 
favorable manner in which it was commonly referred to confirmed his 
belief that he might succeed in the profession of literature. The 
contents of the book appear to have been written when he was be- 
tween sixteen and nineteen years of age ; but though they illustrated 
the character of his abilities and justified his anticipations of success, 
they do not seem to me to evince, all things considered, a very re- 
markable precocity. The late Madame d'Ossoli refers to some of them 
as the productions of a boy of eight or ten years, but I believe there 

*The writer of an eulogium upon the life and genius of Mr. Poe, in the Southern 
Literary Messenger, for March, 1850, thus refers to this point in his history : 

"The story of the other side is different ; and if true, throws a dark shade upon 
the quarrel, and a very ugly light upon Poes character. We shall not insert it, 
because it is one of those relations which we think with Sir Thomas Browne, 
should never be recorded, — being "verities whose truth we fear and heartily 
wish there were no truth therein .... whose relations honest minds do deprecate. 
For of sins heteroclital, and such as want name or precedent, there is oft-times 
a sin even in their history. We desire no record of enormities: sins should be 
accounted new. They omit of their monstrosity as they fall from their rarity; 
for men count it venial to err with their forefathers, and foolishly conceive they 

divide a sin in its society In things of this nature, silence commendeth 

history : 'tis the veniable part of things lost ; wherein there must never arise a 
Pancirollus, nor remain any register but that of hell." 



278 APPENDIX 

is no evidence that anything of his which has been published was 
written before he left the university. Certainly, it was his habit so 
constantly to labor upon what he had produced — he was at all times 
so anxious and industrious in revision — that his works, whenever first 
composed, displayed the perfection of his powers at the time when 
they were given to the press. 

His contributions to the journals attracted little attention, and his 
hopes of gaining a living in this way being disappointed, he enlisted 
in the army as a private soldier. How long he remained in the service 
I have not been able to ascertain. He was recognised by officers who 
had known him at West Point, and efforts were made, privately, but 
with prospects of success, to obtain for him a commission, when it 
was discovered by his friends that he had deserted. 

He had probably found relief from the monotony of a soldier's life 
in literary composition. His mind was never in repose, and without 
some such resort the dull routine of the camp or barracks would have 
been insupportable. When he next appears, he has a volume of MS. 
stories, which he desires to print under the title of "Tales of the Folio 
Club." An offer by the proprietor of the Baltimore "Saturday Visi- 
ter," of two prizes, one for the best tale and one for the best poem, 
induced him to submit the pieces entitled "MS. found in a Bottle," 
"Lionizing," "The Visionary," and three others, with "The Coli- 
seum," a poem, to the committee, which consisted of Mr. John P. 
Kennedy, the author of "Horse Shoe Robinson," Mr. J. H. B. Latrobe, 
and Dr. James H. Miller. Such matters are usually disposed of in a 
very offhand way : Committees to award literary prizes drink to the 
payer's health in good wines, over unexamined MSS., which they 
submit to the discretion of publishers with permission to use their 
names in such a way as to promote the publishers' advantage. So 
perhaps it would have been in this case, but that one of the com- 
mittee, taking up a little book remarkably beautiful and distinct in 
caligraphy, was tempted to read several pages; and becoming inter- 
ested, he summoned the attention of the company to the half-dozen 
compositions it contained. It was unanimously decided that the 
prizes should be paid to "the first of geniuses who had written legibly." 
Not another MS. was unfolded. Immediately the "confidential en- 
velope" was opened, and the successful competitor was found to bear 
the scarcely known name of Poe. The committee indeed awarded to 
him the premiums for both the tale and the poem, but subsequently 
altered their decision, so as to exclude him from the second premium, 
in consideration of his having obtained the higher one. The prize 



APPENDIX 279 

tale was the "MS. found in a Bottle." This award was published 
on the twelfth of October, 1833. The next day the publisher called 
to see Mr. Kennedy, and gave him an account of the author, which 
excited his curiosity and sympathy, and caused him to request that 
he should be brought to his office. Accordingly he was introduced; 
the prize-money had not yet been paid, and he was in the costume in 
which he had answered the advertisement of his good fortune. Thin, 
and pale even to ghastliness, his whole appearance indicated sickness 
and the utmost destitution. A well-worn frock coat concealed the 
absence of a shirt, and imperfect boots disclosed the want of hose. 
But the eyes of the young man were luminous with intelligence and 
feeling, and his voice and conversation and manners all won upon the 
lawyer's regard. Poe told his history, and his ambition, and it was 
determined that he should not want means for a suitable appearance 
in society, nor opportunity for a just display of his abilities in litera- 
ture. Mr. Kennedy accompanied him to a clothing store, and pur- 
chased for him a respectable suit, with changes of linen, and sent him 
to a bath, from which he returned with the suddenly regained style 
of a gentleman. 

His new friends were very kind to him, and availed themselves of 
every opportunity to serve him. Near the close of the year 1834 the 
late Mr. T. W. White established in Richmond the "Southern Literary 
Messenger." He was a man of much simplicity, purity and energy of 
character, but not a writer, and he frequently solicited of his acquaint- 
ances literary assistance. On receiving from him an application for 
an article, early in 1835, Mr. Kennedy, who was busy with the duties 
of his profession, advised Poe to send one, and in a few weeks he had 
occasion to enclose the following answer to a letter from Mr. White. 

"Baltimore, April 13, 1835. 
"Dear Sir: Poe did right in referring to me. He is very clever with his pen — 
classical and scholarlike. He wants experience and direction, but I have no doubt 
he can be made very useful to you. And, poor fellow! he is very poor. I told him 
to write something for every number of your magazine, and that you might find 
it to your advantage to give him some permanent employ. He has a volume of 

very bizarre tales in the hands of , in Philadelphia, who for a year past has 

been promising to publish them. This young fellow is highly imaginative, and a 
little given to the terrific. He is at work upon a tragedy, but I have turned him 
to drudging upon whatever may make money, and I have no doubt you and he 
will find your account in each other." 

In the next number of the "Messenger" Mr. White announced that 
Poe was its editor, or in other words, that he had made arrangements 



280 APPENDIX 

with a gentleman of approved literary taste and attainments to whose 
especial management the editorial department would be confided, 
and it was declared that this gentleman would "devote his exclusive 
attention to the work." Poe continued, however, to reside in Balti- 
more, and it is probable that he was engaged only as a general con- 
tributor and a writer of critical notices of books. In a letter to Mr. 
White, under the date of the thirtieth of May, he says : 

"In regard to my critique of Mr. Kennedy's novel I seriously feel ashamed of 
what I have written. I fully intended to give the work a thorough review, and 
examine it in detail. Ill health alone prevented me from so doing. At the time I 
made the hasty sketch I sent you, I was so ill as to be hardly able to see the paper 
on which I wrote, and I finished it in a state of complete exhaustion. I have not, 
therefore, done anything like justice to the book, and I am vexed about the 
matter, for Mr. Kennedy has proved himself a kind friend to me in every respect, 
and I am sincerely grateful to him for many acts of generosity and attention. 
You ask me if I am perfectly satisfied with your course. I reply that I am — 
entirely. My poor services are not worth what you give me for them." 

About a month afterward he wrote : 

"You ask me if I would be willing to come on to Richmond if you should have 
occasion for my services during the coming winter. I reply that nothing would 
give me greater pleasure. I have been desirous for some time past of paying a 
visit to Richmond, and would be glad of any reasonable excuse for so doing. 
Indeed I am anxious to settle myself in that city, and if, by any chance, you hear 
of a situation likely to suit me, I would gladly accept it, were the salary even 
the merest trifle. I should, indeed, feel myself greatly indebted to you if through 
your means I could accomplish this object. What you say in the conclusion of 
your letter, in relation to the supervision of proof-sheets, gives me reason to 
hope that possibly you might find something for me to do in your office. If so, 
I should be very glad — for at present only a very small portion of my time is 
employed." 

He continued in Baltimore till September. In this period he wrote 
several long reviewals, which for the most part were rather abstracts 
of works than critical discussions, and published with others, "Hans 
Pfaall," a story in some respects very similar to Mr. Locke's cele- 
brated account of Herschell s Discoveries in the Moon. At first he 
appears to have been ill satisfied with Richmond, or with his duties, 
for in two or three weeks after his removal to that city we find Mr. 
Kennedy writing to him : 

"I am sorry to see you in such plight as your letter shows you in. It is strange 
that just at this time, when everybody is praising you, and when fortune is 
beginning to smile upon your hitherto wretched circumstances, you should be 
invaded by these blue devils. It belongs, however, to your age and temper to be 



APPENDIX 281 

thus buffeted — but be assured, it only wants a little resolution to master the 
adversary forever. You will doubtless do well henceforth in literature, and add 
to your comforts as well as to your reputation, which it gives me great pleasure 
to assure you is everywhere rising in popular esteem." 

But he could not bear his good fortune. On receiving a month's 
salary he gave himself up to habits which only necessity had restrained 
at Baltimore. For a week he was in a condition of brutish drunken- 
ness, and Mr. White dismissed him. When he became sober, however, 
he had no resource but in reconciliation, and he wrote letters and in- 
duced acquaintances to call upon Mr. White with professions of 
repentance and promises of reformation. With his usual considerate 
and judicious kindness that gentleman answered him : 

"My dear Edgar: I cannot address you in such language as this occasion and 
my feelings demand: I must be content to speak to you in my plain way. That 
you are sincere in all your promises I firmly believe. But when you once again 
tread these streets, I have my fears that your resolutions will fail, and that you 
will again drink till your senses are lost. If you rely on your strength you are 
gone. Unless you look to your Maker for help you will not be safe. How much I 
regretted parting from you is known to Him only and myself. I had become 
attached to you; I am still; and I would willingly say return, did not a knowledge 
of your past life make me dread a speedy renewal of our separation. If you 
would make yourself contented with quarters in my house, or with any other 
private family, where liquor is not used, I should think there was some hope 
for you. But, if you go to a tavern, or to any place where it is used at table, 
you are not safe. You have fine talents, Edgar, and you ought to have them 
respected, as well as yourself. Learn to respect yourself, and you will soon find 
that you are respected. Separate yourself from the bottle, and from bottle com- 
panions, forever. Tell me if you can and will do so. If you again become an assist- 
ant in my office, it must be understood that all engagements on my part cease 
the moment you get drunk. I am your true friend. T. W. W." 

A new contract was arranged, but Poe's irregularities frequently 
interrupted the kindness and finally exhausted the patience of his 
generous though methodical employer, and in the number of the 
"Messenger" for January, 1837, he thus took leave of its readers: 

"Mr. Poc'i attention being called in another direction, he will decline, with the 
present number, the editorial duties of the Messenger. His Critical Notices for 
this month end with Professor Anthon's Cicero — what follows is from another 
hand. With the best wishes to the magazine, and to its few foes as well as many 
friends, he is now desirous of bidding all parties a peaceful farewell.'" 

While in Richmond, with an income of but five hundred dollars a 
year, he had married his cousin, Virginia Clemm, a very amiable and 
lovely girl, who was as poor as himself, and little fitted, except by her 



282 APPENDIX 

gentle temper, to be the wife of such a person. He went from Rich- 
mond to Baltimore, and after a short time, to Philadelphia, and to 
New York. A slight acquaintance with Dr. Hawks had led that acute 
and powerful writer to invite his contributions to the "New York 
Review," and he had furnished for the second number of it (for 
October, 1837) an elaborate but not very remarkable article upon 
Stephen's then recently published "Incidents of Travel in Egypt, 
Arabia Petrea, and the Holy Land." His abilities were not of the kind 
demanded for such a work, and he never wrote another paper for this 
or for any other Review of the same class. He had commenced in the 
"Literary Messenger," a story of the sea, under the title of "Arthur 
Gordon Pym,"* and upon the recommendation of Mr. Paulding and 
others, it was printed by the Harpers. It is his longest work, and is 
not without some sort of merit, but it received little attention. The 
publishers sent one hundred copies to England, and being mistaken 
at first for a narrative of real experiences, it was advertised to be re- 
printed, but a discovery of its character, I believe, prevented such a 
result. An attempt is made in it, by simplicity of style, minuteness 
of nautical descriptions, and circumstantiality of narration, to give 
it that air of truth which constitutes the principal attraction of Sir 
Edward Seaward 's Narrative, and Robinson Crusoe; but it has none 
of the pleasing interest of these tales ; it is as full of wonders as Mun- 
chausen, has as many atrocities as the Book of Pirates, and as liberal 
an array of paining and revolting horrors as ever was invented by Anne 
Radcliffe or George Walker. Thus far a tendency to extravagance 
had been the most striking infirmity of his genius. He had been more 
anxious to be intense than to be natural ; and some of his bizarreries 
had been mistaken for satire, and admired for that quality. After- 
ward he was more judicious, and if his outlines were incredible it was 
commonly forgotten in the simplicity of his details and their co- 
hesive cumulation. 
Near the end of the year 1838 he settled in Philadelphia. He had 

*The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, of Nantucket; comprising the 
Details of a Mutiny and Atrocious Butchery on board the American Brig Gram- 
pus, on her way to the South Seas — with an Account of the Re-capture of the 
Vessel by the Survivers ; their Shipwreck, and subsequent Horrible Sufferings from 
Famine; their Deliverance by means of the British schooner Jane Gray; the brief 
Cruise of this latter Vessel in the Antarctic Ocean ; her Capture, and the Massacre 
of her Crew among a Group of Islands in the 84th parallel of southern latitude; 
together with the incredible Adventures and Discoveries still further South, to 
which that distressing Calamity gave rise. — 1 vol. 12mo. pp. 198. New- York, 
Harper & Brothers, 1838. 



APPENDIX 283 

no very definite purposes, but trusted for support to the chances of 
success as a magazinist and newspaper correspondent. "Mr. Burton, 
the comedian, had recently established the "Gentleman's Magazine," 
and of this he became a contributor, and in May, 1839, the chief 
editor, devoting to it, for ten dollars a week, two hours every day, 
which left him abundant time for more important labors. In the same 
month he agreed to furnish such reviewals as he had written for the 
"Literary Messenger," for the "Literary Examiner," a new magazine 
at Pittsburgh. But his more congenial pursuit was tale writing, and 
he produced about this period some of his most remarkable and char- 
acteristic works in a department of imaginative composition in which 
he was henceforth alone and unapproachable. The "Fall of the House 
of Usher," and "Legeia," are the most interesting illustrations of his 
mental organization — his masterpieces in a peculiar vein of romantic 
creation. They have the unquestionable stamp of genius. The analy- 
ses of the growth of madness in one, and the thrilling revelations of 
the existence of a first wife in the person of a second, in the other, are 
made with consummate skill ; and the strange and solemn and fascin- 
ating beauty which informs the style and invests the circumstances 
of both, drugs the mind, and makes us forget the improbabilities of 
their general design. 

An awakened ambition and the healthful influence of a conviction 
that his works were appreciated, and that his fame was increasing, 
led him for a while to cheerful views of life, and to regular habits of 
conduct. He wrote to a friend, the author of "Edge Hill," in Rich- 
mond, that he had quite overcome "the seductive and dangerous 
besetment" by which he had so often been prostrated, and to another 
friend that, incredible as it might seem, he had become a "model of 
temperance," and of "other virtues," which it had sometimes been 
difficult for him to practise. Before the close of the summer, how- 
ever, he relapsed into his former courses, and for weeks was regardless 
of everything but a morbid and insatiable appetite for the means of 
intoxication. 

In the autumn he published all the prose stories he had then written, 
in two volumes, under the title of "Tales of the Grotesque and the 
Arabesque." The work was not saleable, perhaps because its con- 
tents were too familiar from recent separate publication in maga- 
zines ; and it was not so warmly praised, generally, as I think it should 
have been, though in point of style the pieces which it embraced are 
much less perfect than they were made subsequently. 

He was with Mr. Burton until June, 1840 — more than a year. Mr. 



284 APPENDIX 

Burton appreciated' his abilities and would gladly have continued the 
connexion; but Poe was so unsteady of purpose and so unreliable that 
the actor was never sure when he left the city that his business would 
be cared for. On one occasion, returning after the regular day of pub- 
lication, he found the number unfinished, and Poe incapable of duty. 
He prepared the necessary copy himself, published the magazine, 
and was proceeding with arrangements for another month, when he 
received a letter from his assistant, of which the tone may be inferred 
from this answer: 

"I am sorry you have thought it necessary to send me such a letter. Your 
troubles have given a morbid tone to your feelings which it is your duty to dis- 
courage. I myself have been as severely handled by the world as you can possibly 
have been, but my sufferings have not tinged my mind with melancholy, nor 
jaundiced my views of society. You must rouse your energies, and if care assail 
you, conquer it. I will gladly overlook the past. I hope you will as easily fulfil 
your pledges, for the future. We shall agree very well, though I cannot permit 
the magazine to be made a vehicle for that sort of severity which you think is so 
"successful with the mob." I am truly much less anxious about making a monthly 
"sensation" than I am upon the point of fairness. You must, my dear sir, get rid 
of your avowed ill-feelings toward your brother authors. You see I speak plainly : 
1 cannot do otherwise upon such a subject. You say the people love havoc. I 
think they love justice. I think you yourself would not have written the article 
on Dawes, in a more healthy state of mind. I am not trammelled by any vulgar 
consideration of expediency ; I would rather lose money than by such undue sever- 
ity wound the feelings of a kind-hearted and honorable man. And I am satisfied 
that .Dawes has something of the true fire in him. I regretted your word-catching 
spirit. But I wander from my design. I accept your proposition to recommence 
your interrupted avocations UfX)n the Maga. Let us meet as if we had not ex- 
changed letters. Use more exercise, write when feelings prompt, and be assured 
of my friendship. You will soon regain a healthy activity of mind, and laugh at 
your past vagaries." 

This letter was kind and judicious. It gives us a glimpse of Poe's 
theory of criticism, and displays the temper and principles of the 
literary comedian in, an honorable light. Two or three months after- 
ward Burton went out of town to fulfil a professional engagement, 
leaving material and directions for completing the next number of 
the magazine in four days. He was absent nearly a fortnight, and on 
returning he found that his printers in the meanwhile had not re- 
ceived a line of copy; but that Poe had prepared the prospectus of a 
new monthly, and obtained transcripts of his subscription and ac- 
count books, to be used in a scheme for supplanting him. He encount- 
ered his associate late in the evening at one of his accustomed haunts, 
and said, "Mr. Poe, I am astonished: Give me my manuscripts so 



APPENDIX 285 

that I can attend to the duties you have so shamefully neglected, and 
when you are sober we will settle." Poe interrupted him with "Who 
are you that presume to address me in this manner? Burton, I am — 
the editor — of the Penn Magazine — and you are — hiccup — a fool." Of 
course this ended his relations with the "Gentleman's." 

In November, 1840, Burton's miscellany was merged in "The 
Casket," owned by Mr. George R. Graham, and the new series re- 
ceived the name of its proprietor, who engaged Poe in its editorship. 
His connexion with "Graham's Magazine" lasted about a year and a 
half, and this was one of the most active and brilliant periods in his 
literary life. He wrote in it several of his finest tales and most 
trenchant criticisms, and challenged attention by his papers entitled 
"Autography," and those on cryptology and cyphers. In the first, 
adopting a suggestion of Lavater, he attempted the illustration of 
character from handwriting; and in the second, he assumed that 
human ingenuity could construct no secret writing which human in- 
genuity could not resolve : a not very dangerous proposition, since it 
implied no capacity in himself to discover every riddle of this kind 
that should be invented. He, however, succeeded with several difficult 
cryptographs that were sent to him, and the direction of his mind to 
the subject led to the composition of some of the tales of ratiocination 
which so largely increased his reputation. The infirmities which in- 
duced his separation from Mr. White and from Mr. Burton at length 
compelled Mr. Graham to seek for another editor; but Poe still re- 
mained in Philadelphia, engaged from time to time in various literary 
occupations, and in the vain effort to establish a journal of his own to 
be called "The Stylus." Although it requires considerable capital 
to carry on a monthly of the description he proposed, I think it would 
not have been difficult, with his well-earned fame as a magazinist, 
for him to have found a competent and suitable publisher, but for the 
unfortunate notoriety of his habits, and the failure in succession of 
three persons who had admired him for his genius and pitied him for 
his misfortunes, by every means that tact or friendship could suggest, 
to induce the consistency and steadiness of application indispensable 
to success in such pursuits. It was in the spring of 1848 — more than 
a year after his dissociation from Graham — that he wrote the story 
of "The Gold Bug," for which he was paid a prize of one hundred 
dollars. It has relation to Captain Kyd's treasure, and is one of the 
most remarkable illustrations of his ingenuity of construction and 
apparent subtlety of reasoning. The interest depends upon the solution 
of an intricate cypher. Inthe autumn of 1844 Poe removed to New York, 



286 APPENDIX 

It was while he resided in Philadelphia that I became acquainted 
with him. His manner, except during his fits of intoxication, was 
very quiet and gentlemanly; he was usually dressed with simplicity 
and elegance; and when once he sent for me to visit him, during a 
period of illness caused by protracted and anxious watching at the 
side of his sick wife, I was impressed by the singular neatness and the 
air of refinement in his home. It was in a small house, in one of the 
pleasant and silent neighborhoods far from the centre of the town, 
and though slightly and cheaply furnished, everything in it was so 
tasteful and so fitly disposed that it seemed altogether suitable for a 
man of genius. For this and for most of the comforts he enjoyed in his 
brightest as in his darkest years, he was chiefly indebted to his 
mother-in-law, who loved him with more than maternal devotion 
and constancy. 

He had now written his most acute criticisms and his most ad- 
mirable tales. Of tales, besides those to which I have referred, he had 
produced "The Descent into the Maelstrom," "The Premature 
Burial," "The Purloined Letter," "The Murders of the Rue Morgue," 
and its sequel, "The Mystery of Marie Roget." The scenes of the 
last three are in Paris, where the author's friend, the Chevalier 
Auguste Dupin, is supposed to reveal to him the curiosities of his 
experience and observation in matters of police. "The Mystery of 
Marie Roget" was first published in the autumn of 1842, before an 
extraordinary excitement, occasioned by the murder of a young girl 
named Mary Rogers, in the vicinity of New York, had quite sub- 
sided, though several months after the tragedy. Under pretence of 
relating the fate of a Parisian grisette, Mr. Poe followed in minute 
detail the essential while merely paralleling the inessential facts of the 
real murder. His object appears to have been to reinvestigate the 
case and to settle his own conclusions as to the probable culprit. 
There is a great deal of hair-splitting in the incidental discussions by 
Dupin, throughout all these stories, but it is made effective. Much 
of their popularity, as well as that of other tales of ratiocination by 
Poe, arose from their being in a new key. I do not mean to say that 
they are not ingenious; but they have been thought more ingenious 
than they are, on account of their method and air of method. In 
"The Murders of the Rue Morgue," for instance, what ingenuity is 
displayed in unravelling a web which has been woven for the express 
purpose of unravelling ? The reader is made to confound the ingenuity 
of the suppositious Dupin with that of the writer of the story. These 
works brought the name of Poe himself somewhat conspicuously be- 



APPENDIX 287 

fore the law courts of Paris. The journal, La Commerce, gave a 
feuilleton in which "The Murders of the Rue Morgue" appeared in 
translation. Afterward a writer for La Quotidienne served it for that 
paper under the title of ''LOrang-Otang." A third party accused La 
Quotidienne of plagiary from La Commerce, and in the course of the 
legal investigation which ensued, the feuilletoniste of La Commerce 
proved to the satisfaction of the tribunal that he had stolen the tale 
entirely from Mr. Poe,* whose merits were soon after canvassed in 

*The controversy is wittily described in the following extract from a Parisian 
journal, L'Entr Acte, of the twentieth of October, 1846: 

*'Un grand journal accusait I'autre jour M. Old-Nick d'avoir vole un orang- 
outang. Cet interessant animal flanait dans le feuilleton de la Quotidienne, lorsque 
M, Old-Nick le vit, le trouva a son gout et s'en empara. Notre confrere avait sans 
doute besoin d'un groom. On salt que les Anglais ont depuis long-temps colonise 
les orangs-outangs, et les ont instruits dans I'art de porter les lettres sur un plateau 
de vermeil, et de vernir les bottes. II paraitrait, toujours suivant le meme grand 
journal, que M. Old-Nick, apres avoir derobe cet orang-outang a la Quotidienne, 
I'aurait ensuite cede au Commerce, comme propriete a lui appartenant. Je sais 
que M. Old-Nick est un gar9on plein d'esprit et plein d'honneur, assez riche de 
son propre fonds pour ne pas s'approprier les orangs-outangs des autres; cette 
accusation me surprit. Apres tout, me dis-je, il y a eu des monomanies plus ex- 
traordinaries que celle-la; le grand Bacon ne pouvait voir un baton de cire a 
cacheter sans se I'approprier: dans une conference avec M. de Mettemich aux 
Tuileries, I'Empereur s'apercut que le diplomate autrichien glissait des pains a 
cacheter dans sa poche. M. Old-Nick a une autre manie, il fait les orangs-outangs. 
Je m'attendais toujours a ce que la Quotidienne jetat feu et flammes etdemandat 
a grands cris son homme des bois. II faut vous dire que j 'avals lu son histoire dans 
le Commerce, elle 6tait charmante d'esprit et de style, pleine de rapidite et de 
desinvolture; la Quotidienne I'avait egalement publiee, mais en trois feuilletons. 
L'orang-outang du Commerce n'avait que neuf colonnes. II s'agissait done d'un 
autre quadrumane litteraire. Ma foi non! c'etait le meme; seulement il n'ap- 
partenait ni h la Quotidienne, ni au Commerce. M. Old-Nick I'avait emprunte h 
un romancier Americain qu'il est en train d'inventer dans la Revue des Deux- 
Mondes. Ce romancier s'appelle Poe ; je ne dis pas le contraire. Voila done un 
ecrivain qui use du droit legitime d'arranger les nouvelles d'un romancier Ameri- 
cain qu'il a invente, et on I'accuse de plagiat, de vol au feuilleton; on alarme ses 
amis en leur faisant croire que cet ecrivain est possede de la monomanie des 
orangs-outangs. Par la Courchamps! voil^ qui me parait leger. M. Old-Nick a 
ecrit au journal en question une reponse pour retablir sa moralite. attaquee h. 
I'endroit des orangs-outangs. Cet orang-outang a mis, ces jours demiers, toute 
la litterature en emoi; personne n'a cru un seul instant h. I'accusation qu'on a 
essaye de faire peser sur M. Old-Nick, d'autant plus qu'il avait pris soin d'indiquer 
luimeme la cage ou il avait pris son orang-outang. Ceci va foumir de nouvelles 
armes h la secte qui croit aux romanciers Americains. Le prejuge de I'existence 
de Cooper en prendra de nouvelles forces. En attendant que la verlte se decouvre, 
nous somimes forces de convenir que ce Poe est un gaillard bien fin, bien spirituel, 
quand il est arrange par M. Old-Nick. 



288 APPENDIX 

the ''Revue des Deux Mondes," and whose best tales were upon this 
impulse translated by Mme. Isabelle Meunier for the Democratie 
Pacifique and other French gazettes. 

In New York Poe entered upon a new sort of life. Heretofore, from 
the commencement of his literary career, he had resided in provincial 
towns. Now he was in a metropolis, and with a reputation which 
might have served as a passport to any society he could desire. For 
the first time he was received into circles capable of both the apprecia- 
tion and the production of literature. He added to his fame soon 
after he came to the city by the publication of that remarkable 
composition "The Raven," of which Mr. Willis has observed that in 
his opinion "it is the most effective single example of fugitive poetry 
ever published in this country, and is unsurpassed in English poetry 
for subtle conception, masterly ingenuity of versification, and con- 
sistent sustaining of imaginative lift" ; and by that of one of the most 
extraordinary instances of the naturalness of detail — the verisimilitude 
of minute narrative — for which he was preeminently distinguished, 
his "Mesmeric Revelation," purporting to be the last conversation 
of a isomnambule, held just before death with his magnetizer ; which 
was followed by the yet more striking exhibition of abilities in the 
same way, entitled "The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar," in which 
the subject is represented as having been mesmerized in articulo 
mortis. These pieces were reprinted throughout the literary and 
philosophical world, in nearly all languages, everywhere causing sharp 
and curious speculation, and where readers could be persuaded that 
they were fables, challenging a reluctant but genuine admiration. 

He had not been long in New- York before he was engaged by Mr. 
Willis and General Morris as critic and assistant editor of "The 
Mirror." He remained in this situation about six months, when he 
became associated with Mr. Briggs in the conduct of the "Broadway 
Journal," which in October, 1845, passed entirely into his possession. 
He had now the long-sought but never before enjoyed absolute con- 
trol of a literary gazette, and, with much friendly assistance, he main- 
tained it long enough to show that whatever his genius, he had not the 
kind or degree of talent necessary to such a position. His chief critical 
writings in the "Broadway Journal," were a paper on Miss Barrett's 
Poems and a long discussion of the subject of plagiarism, with especial 
reference to Mr. Longfellow. In March, 1845, he had given a lecture 
at the Society Library upon the American poets, composed, for the 
most part, of fragments of his previously published reviewals; and in 
the autumn he accepted an invitation to read a poem before the 



APPENDIX 289 

Boston Lyceum. A week after the event, he printed in the "Broadway 
Journal" the following account of it, in reply to a paragraph in one 
of the city papers, founded upon a statement in the Boston "Tran- 
script." 

"Our excellent friend, Major Noah, has suffered himself to be cajoled by that 
most beguiling of all beguiling little divinities, Miss Walter, of 'The Transcript.* 
We have been looking all over her article with the aid of a taper, to see if we could 
discover a single syllable of truth in it — and really blush to acknowledge that we 
cannot. The adorable creature has been telling a parcel of fibs about us, by way 
of revenge for something that we did to Mr. Longfellow (who admires her very 
much) and for calling her "a pretty little witch' into the bargain. The facts of the 
case seem to be these: We were invited to 'deliver' (stand and deliver) a poem 
before the Boston Lyceum. As a matter of course, we accepted the invitation. 
The audience was 'large and distinguished.' Mr. Gushing* preceded us with a 
very capital discourse: he was much applauded. On arising, we were most cordially 
received. We occupied some fifteen minutes with an apology for not' delivering,' 
as is usual in such cases, a didactic poem: a didactic poem, in our opinion, being 
precisely no poem at all. After some farther words — still of apology — for the 
'indefinitiveness' and 'general imbecility' of what we had to offer — all so unworthy 
a Bostonian audience — we commenced, and, with many interruptions of applause, 
concluded. Upon the whole the approbation was considerably more (the more 
the pity too) than that bestowed upon Mr. Gushing. When we had made an end, 
the audience, of course, arose to depart ; and about one-tenth of them, probably, 
had really departed, when Mr. Goffin, one of the managing committee, arrested 
those who remained, by the announcement that we had been requested to deliver 
"The Raven.' We delivered 'The Raven' forthwith — (without taking a receipt) — 
were very cordially applauded again — and this was the end of it — with the excep- 
tion of the sad tale invented to suit her own purposes, by that amiable little 
enemy of ours. Miss Walter. We shall never call a woman 'a pretty little witch' 
again, as long as we live. 

"We like Boston. We were bom there — and perhaps it is just as well not to 
mention that we are heartily, ashamed of the fact. The Bostonians are very well 
in their way. Their hotels are bad. Their pumpkin pies are delicious. Their 
poetry is not so good. Their common is no common thing — and the duck-pond 
might answer — if its answer could be heard for the frogs. But with all these good 
qualities the Bostonians have no soul. They have always evinced towards us, 
individually, the basest ingratitude for the services we rendered them in enlighten- 
ing them about the originality of Mr. Longfellow. When we accepted, therefore, 
an invitation to 'deliver' a poem in Boston — we accepted it simply and solely, 
because we had a curiosity to know how it felt to be publicly hissed — and because 
we wished to see what effect we could produce by a neat little impromptu speech 
in reply. Perhaps, however, we overrated our own importance, or the Bostonian 
want of common civility — which is not quite so manifest as one or two of their 
editors would wish the public to believe. We assure Major Noah that he is wrong. 
The Bostonians are well-bred — as very dull persons very generally are. Still, with 
their vile ingratitude staring us in the eyes, it could scarcely be supposed that we 

*Hon. Galeb Gushing, then recently returned from his mission to Ghina. 



290 APPENDIX 

would put ourselves to the trouble of composing for the Bostonians anything 
in the shape of an original poem. We did not. We had a poem (of about 500 
lines) lying by us — one quite as good as new — one, at all events, that we considered 
would answer sufficiently well for an audience of Transcendentalists. That we 
gave them — it was the best that we had — for the price — and it did answer re- 
markably well. Its name was not 'The Messenger-Star' — who but Miss Walter 
would ever think of so delicious a little bit of invention as that ? We had no name 
for it at all. The poem is what is occasionally called a 'juvenile poem' — but the 
fact is, it is anything but juvenile now, for we wrote it, printed it, and published 
it, in book form, before we had fairly completed our tenth year. We read it 
verbatim, from a copy now in our possession, and which we shall be happy to show 
at any moment to any of our inquisitive friends. We do not, ourselves, think the 
poem a remarkably good one: — it is not sufficiently transcendental. Still it did 
well enough for the Boston audience — who evinced characteristic discrimination 
in understanding, and especially applauding, all those knotty passages which we 
ourselves have not yet been able to understand. 

"As regards the anger of the 'Boston Times' and one or two other absurdities — 
as regards, we say, the wrath of Achilles — we incurred it — or rather its manifesta- 
tion — by letting some of our cat out of the bag a few hours sooner than we had 
intended. Over a bottle of champagne, that night, we confessed to Messrs. Gush- 
ing, Whipple, Hudson, Fields, and a few other natives who swear not altogether 
by the frog-pond — we confessed, we say, the soft impeachment of the hoax. 
Et hinc illae irae. We should have waited a couple of days." 

It is scarcely necessary to suggest that this must have been written 
before he had quite recovered from the long intoxication which mad- 
dened him at the time to which it refers — that he was not born in 
Boston, that the poem was not published in his tenth year, and that 
the "hoax" was all an afterthought. Two weeks later he renewed the 
discussion of the subject in the "Broadway Journal," commenting as 
follows upon allusions to it by other parties : 

"Were the question demanded of us — 'What is the most exquisite of sublunary 
pleasures?' we should reply, without hesitation, the making a fuss, or, in the 
classical words of a western friend, the 'kicking up a bobbery.' Never was a 
'bobbery' more delightful than which we have just succeeded in 'kicking up' all 
around about Boston Common. We never saw the Frogpondians so lively in our 
lives. They seem absolutely to be upon the point of waking up. In about nine 
days the puppies may get open their eyes. That is to say they may get open their 
eyes to certain facts which have long been obvious to all the world except them- 
selves — the facts that there exist other cities than Boston — other men of letters 
than Professor Longfellow — other vehicles of literary information than the 'Down- 
East Review.' 

' 'We had tact enough not to be 'taken in and done for' by the Bostonians. Timeo 
Danaos et dona ferentes — {for timeo substitute contemno or turn-up-our-nose-o). 
We knew very well that among a certain clique of Frogpondians, there existed a 
predetermination to abuse us under any circumstances. We knew that, write what 
we would, they would swear it to be worthless. We knew that were we to compose 



APPENDIX 291 

for them a 'Paradise Lost," they would pronounce it an indifferent poem. It 
would have been very weak in us, then, to put ourselves to the trouble of attempt- 
ing to please these people. We preferredpleasing ourselves. We read before them 
a 'juvenile* — a very 'juvenile' poem — and thus the Frogpondians were had — were 
delivered up to the enemy bound hand and foot. Never were a set of people more 
completely demolished. They have blustered and flustered — but what have they 
done or said that has not made them more thoroughly ridiculous? — what, in the 
name of Momus, is it possible for them to do or to say? We 'delivered' them the 
'juvenile poem' and they received it with applause. This is accounted for by the 
fact that the clique (contemptible in numbers as in everything else) were overruled 
by the rest of the assembly. These malignants did not dare to interrupt by their 
preconcerted hisses, the respectful and profound attention of the majority. We 
have been told, indeed, that as many as three or four of the personal friends of the 
little old lady entitled Miss Walter, did actually leave the hall during the recita- 
tion — but, upon the whole, this was the very best thing they could do. We have 
been told this, we say — we did not see them take their departure: — the fact is they 
belong to a class of people that we make it a point never to see. The poem being 
thus well received, in spite of this rediculous little cabal — the next thing to be done 
was to abuse it in the papers. Here, they imagined, they were sure of their game. 
But what have they accomplished? The poem, they say, is bad. We admit it. 
We insisted upon this fact in our prefatory remarks, and we insist upon it now, 
over and over again. It is bad — it is wretched — and what then? We wrote it at 
ten years of age — had it been worth even a pumpkin-pie undoubtedly we should 
not have 'delivered' it to them. To demonstrate its utter worthlessness, 'The 
Boston Star' has copied the poem in full, with two or three columns of criticism 
(we suppose) by way of explaining that we should have been hanged for its per- 
petration. There is no doubt of it whatever — we should. 'The Star," however, 
(a dull luminary) has done us more honor than it intended; it has copied our third 
edition of the poem, revised and improved. We considered this too good for the 
occasion by one-half, and so 'delivered' the first edition with all its imperfections 
on its head. It is the first — the original edition — the delivered edition — which we 
now republish in our collection of Poems." 

When he accepted the invitation of the Lyceum he intended to write 
an original poem, upon a subject which he said had haunted his 
imagination for years; but cares, anxieties, and feebleness of will, 
prevented; and a week before the appointed night he wrote to a friend, 
imploring assistance. "You compose with such astonishing facility," 
he urged in his letter, "that you can easily furnish me, quite soon 
enough, a poem that shall be equal to my reputation. For the love 
of God I beseech you to help me in this extremity." The lady wrote 
him kindly, advising him judiciously, but promising to attempt the 
fulfilment of his wishes. She was, however, an invalid, and so failed.* 

*This lady was the late Mrs. Osgood, and a fragment of what she wrote under 
these circumstances may be found in the last edition of her works under the title 
of "Lulin, or the Diamond Fay." 



292 APPENDIX 

At last, instead of pleading illness himself, as he had previously done 
on a similar occasion, he determined to read his poem of *'A1 Aaraaf," 
the original publication of which, in 1829, has already been stated. 

The last number of the "Broadway Journal" was published on the 
third of January, 1846, and Poe soon after commenced the series of 
papers entitled "The Literati of New- York City," which were pub- 
lished in "The Lady's Book" in six numbers, from May to October. 
Their spirit, boldness, and occasional causticity, caused them to be 
much talked about, and three editions were necessary to supply the 
demand for some numbers of the magazine containing them. They 
however led to a disgraceful quarrel, and this to their premature con- 
clusion. Dr. Thomas Dunn English, who had at one time sustained 
the most intimate relations with Poe, chose to evince his resentment 
of the critic's unfairness by the publication of a card in which he 
painted strongly the infirmities of Poe's life and character, and alleged 
that he had on several occasions inflicted upon him personal chastise- 
ment. This was not a wise confession, for a gentleman never appeals 
to his physical abilities except for defence. But the entire publica- 
tion, even if every word of it were true, was unworthy of Dr. English, 
unnecessary, and not called for by Poe's article, though that, as every 
one acquainted with the parties might have seen, was entirely false 
in what purported to be facts. The statement of Dr. English 
appeared in the New- York "Mirror" of the twenty-third of June, 
and on the twenty-seventh Mr. Poe sent to Mr. Godey for publication 
in the "Lady's Book" his rejoinder, which would have made about 
five of the large pages of that miscellany. Mr. Godey very properly 
declined to print it, and observed, in the communication of his 
decision, that the tone of the article was regarded as unsuitable for 
his work and as altogether wrong. In compliance with the author's 
wishes, however, he had caused its appearance in a daily paper. Poe 
then wrote to him: 

"The man or men who told you that there was anything wrong in the tone of my 
reply were either my enemies, or your enemies, or asses. When you see them, tell 
them so, from me. I have never written an article upon which I more confidently 
depend for literary reputation than that Reply. Its merit lay in its being precisely 
adapted to its purpose. In this city I have had upon it the favorable judgments 
of the best men. All the error about it was yours. You should have done as I 
requested — published it in the "Book." It is of no use to conceive a plan if you 
have to depend upon another for its execution." 

Nevertheless, I agree with Mr. Godey. Poe's article was as bad as 



APPENDIX 293 

that of English. Yet a part of one of its paragraphs is interesting, 
and it is here transcribed : 

— "Let me not permit any profundity of disgust to induce, even for an instant, 
a violation of the dignity of truth. What is not false, amid the scurrility of this 
man's statements, it is not in my nature to brand as false, although oozing from 
the filthy lips of which a lie is the only natural language. The errors and frailties 
which I deplore, it cannot at least be asserted that I have been the coward to deny. 
Never, even, have I made attempt at extenuating a weakness which is (or, by the 
blessing of God, was) a calamity, although those who did not know me intimately 
had little reason to regard it otherwise than as a crime. For, indeed, had my 
pride, or that of my family permitted, there was much — very much — there was 
everything — to be offered in extenuation. Perhaps, even, there was an epoch at 
which it might not have been wrong in me to hint — what by the testimony of Dr. 
Francis and other medical men I might have demonstrated, had the public, in- 
deed, cared for the demonstration — that the irregularities so profoundly lamented 
were the effect of a terrible evil rather than its cause. — And now let me thank God 
that in redemption from the physical ill I have forever got rid of the moral." 

Dr. Francis never gave any such testimony. On one occasion Poe 
borrowed fifty dollars from a distinguished literaty woman of South 
Carolina, promising to return it in a few days, and when he failed to 
do so, and was asked for a written acknowledgment of the debt that 
might be exhibited to the husband of the friend who had thus served 
him, he denied all knowledge of it, and threatened to exhibit a corre- 
spondence which he said would make the woman infamous, if she 
said any more on the subject. Of course there had never been any 
such correspondence, but when Poe heard that a brother of the 
slandered party was in quest of him for the purpose of taking the 
satisfaction supposed to be due in such cases, he sent for Dr. Francis 
and induced him to carry to the gentleman his retraction and apology, 
with a statement which seemed true enough at the moment, that Poe 
was "out of his head." It is an ungracious duty to describe such con- 
duct in a person of Poe's unquestionable genius and capacities of 
greatness, but those who are familiar with the career of this extra- 
ordinary creature can recall but too many similar anecdotes; and as 
to his intemperance, they perfectly well understand that its pathology 
was like that of ninety-nine of every hundred cases of the disease. 

As the autumn of 1 846 wore on, Poe's habits of frequent intoxication 
and his inattention to the means of support reduced him to much 
more than common destitution. He was now living at Fordham, 
several miles from the city, so that his necessities were not generally 
known even among his acquaintances; but when the dangerous illness 
of his wife was added to his misfortunes, and his dissipation and 



294 APPENDIX 

accumulated causes of anxiety had prostrated all his own energies, 
the subject was introduced into the journals. The "Express" said: 

"We regret to learn that Edgar A. Poe and his wife are both dangerously ill 
with the consumption, and that the hand of misfortune lies heavy upon their 
temporal affairs. We are sorry to mention the fact that they are so far reduced 
as to be barely able to obtain the necessaries of life. This is indeed a hard lot, 
and we hope that the friends and admirers of Mr. Poe will come promptly to his 
assistance in his bitterest hour of need." 

Mr. Willis, in an article in the "Home Journal" suggesting a hos- 
pital for disabled laborers with the brain, said — 

"The feeling we have long entertained on this subject, has been freshened by a 
recent paragraph in the 'Express,* announcing that Mr. Edgar A. Poe and his wife 
were both dangerously ill, and suffering for want of the common necessaries of 
life. Here is one of the finest scholars, one of the most original men of genius, and 
one of the most industrious of the literary profession of our country, whose 
temporary suspension of labor, from bodily illness, drops him immediately to a 
level with the common objects of public charity. There was no intermediate 
stopping-place — no respectful shelter where, with the delicacy due to genius and 
culture, he might secure aid, unadvertised, till, with returning health, he could 
resume his labors and his unmortified sense of independence. He must either 
apply to individual friends — (a resource to which death is sometimes almost 
preferable) — or suffer down to the level where Charity receives claimants, but 
where Rags and Humiliation are the orJy recognised Ushers to her presence. Is 
this right? Should there not be, in all highly civilized communities, an Institution 
designed expressly for educated and refined objects of charity — a hospital, a 
retreat, a home of seclusion and comfort, the sufficient claims to which would be 
such susceptibilities as are violated by the above mentioned appeal in a daily 
newspaper." 

The entire article from which this paragraph is taken, was an in- 
genious apology for Mr. Poe's infirmities; but it was conceived and 
executed in a generous spirit, and it had a quick effect in various con- 
tributions, which relieved the poet from pecuniary embarrassments. 
,The next week he published the following letter: 

"My Dear Willis: — The paragraph which has been put in circulation respecting 
my wife's illness, my own, my poverty, etc., is now lying before me; together with 

the beautiful lines by Mrs. Locke and those by Mrs. , to which the paragraph 

has given rise, as well as your kind and manly comments in 'The Home Journal.' 
The motive of the paragraph I leave to the conscience of him or her who wrote it 
or suggested it. Since the thing is done, however, and since the concerns of my 
family are thus pitilessly thrust before the public, I perceive no mode of escape 
from a public statement of what is true and what erroneous in the report alluded 
to. That my wife is ill, then, is true; and you may imagine with what feelings I 
add that this illness, hopeless from the first, has been heightened and precipitated 
by her reception at two different periods, of anonymous letters, — one enclosing 



APPENDIX 295 

the paragraph now in question; the other, those published calumnies of Messrs. 
, for which I yet hope to find redress in a court of justice. 

"Of the facts, that I myself have been long and dangerously ill, and that my 
illness has been a well understood thing among my brethren of the press, the best 
evidence is afforded by the innumerable paragraphs of personal and of literary 
abuse with which I have been latterly assailed. This matter, however, will 
remedy itself. At the very first blush of my new prosperity, the gentlemen who 
toadied me in the old, will recollect themselves and toady me again. You, who 
know me, will comprehend that I speak of these things only as having served, in a 
measure, to lighten the gloom of unhappiness, by a gentle and not unpleasant 
sentiment of mingled pity, merriment and contempt. That, as the inevitable 
consequence of so long an illness, I have been in want of money, it would be folly 
in me to deny — but that I have ever materially suffered from privation, beyond 
the extent of my capacity for suffering, is not altogether true. That I am 'without 
friends' is a gross calumny, which I am sure you never could have believed, and 
which a thousand noble-hearted men would have good right never to forgive me 
for permitting to pass unnoticed and undenied. Even in the city of New- York 
I could have no difficulty in naming a hundred persons, to each of whom — when 
the hour for speaking had arrived — I could and would have applied for aid with 
unbounded confidence, and with absolutely no sense of humiliation. I do not 
think, my dear Willis, that there is any need of my saying more. I am getting 
better, and may add — if it be any comfort to my enemies — that I have little fear 
of getting worse. The truth is, I have a great deal to do; and I have made up 
my mind not to die till it is done. Sincerely yours, 

"December 30th, 1846. Edgar A. PoE." 

This was written for efifect. He had not been ill a great while, nor 
dangerously at all ; there was no literary or personal abuse of him in 
the journals; and his friends in town had been applied to for money 
until their patience was nearly exhausted. His wife, however, was 
very sick, and in a few weeks she died. In a letter to a lady in Massa- 
chusetts, who, upon the appearance of the newspaper articles above 
quoted, had sent him money and expressions of sympathy, he wrote, 
under date of March 10, 1847: 

"In answering your kind letter permit me in the very first place to absolve my- 
self from a suspicion which, under the circumstances, you could scarcely have 
failed to entertain — a suspicion of discourtesy toward yourself, in not having more 
promptly replied to you ... I could not help fearing that should you see my 
letter to Mr. Willis — in which a natural pride, which 1 feel you could not blame, 
impelled me to shrink from public charity, even at the cost of truth, in denying those 
necessities which were but too real — I could not help fearing that, should you see this 
letter, you would yourself feel pained at having caused me pain — at having been 
the means of giving further publicity to an unfounded report — at all events to the 
report of a wretchedness which I had thought it prudent (since the world regards 
wretchedness as a crime) so publicly to disavow. In a word, venturing to judge 
your noble nature by my own, I felt grieved lest my published denial might cause 
you to regret what you had done; and my first impulse was to write you, and 



296 APPENDIX 

assure you, even at the risk of doing so too warmly, of the sweet emotion, made up 
of respect and gratitude alone, with which my heart was filled to overflowing. 
While I was hesitating, however, in regard to the propriety of this step, I was 
overwhelmed by a sorrow so poignant as to deprive me for several weeks of all 
power of thought or action. Your letter, now lying before me, tells me that I had 
not been mistaken in your nature, and that I should not have hesitated to address 

you; but believe me, my dear Mrs. L , that I am already ceasing to regard 

those difficulties or misfortunes which have led me to even this partial corre- 
spondence with yourself." 

For nearly a year Mr. Poe was not often before the public, but he 
was as industrious, perhaps, as he had been at any time, and early in 
1848 advertisement was made of his intention to deliver several 
lectures, with a view to obtain an amount of money sufficient to 
establish his so-long-contemplated monthly magazine. His first 
lecture — and only one at this period — was given at the Society Li- 
brary, in New-York, on the ninth of February, and was upon the 
cosmogony of the Universe; it was attended by an eminently intel- 
lectual auditory, and the reading of it occupied about two hours and 
a half; it was what he afterwards published under the title of "Eureka, 
a Prose Poem." 

To the composition of this work he brought his subtlest and highest 
capacities, in their most perfect development. Denying that the 
arcana of the universe can be explored by induction, but informing 
his imagination with the various results of science, he entered with 
unhestitating boldness, though with no guide but the divinest in- 
stinct, — that sense of beauty, in which our great Edwards recognises 
the flowering of all truth — into the sea of speculation, and there built 
up of according laws and their phenomena, as under the influence of 
a scientific inspiration, his theory of Nature. I will not attempt the 
difficult task of condensing his propositions; to be apprehended they 
must be studied in his own terse and simple language ; but in this we 
have a summary of that which he regards as fundamental: "The law 
which we call Gravity," he says, "exists on account of matter having 
been radiated, at its origin, atomically, into a limited sphere of space, 
from one, individual, unconditional, irrelative, and absolute Particle 
Proper, by the sole process in which it was possible to satisfy, at the 
same time, the two conditions, radiation and equable distribution 
throughout the sphere — that is to say, by a force varying in direct 
proportion with the squares of the distances between the radiated 
atoms, respectively, and the particular centre of radiation." 

Poe was thoroughly persuaded that he had discovered the great 
secret; that the propositions of "Eureka" were true; and he was wont 



APPENDIX 297 

to talk of the subject with a sublime and electrical enthusiasm which 
they cannot have forgotten who were familiar with him at the period 
of its publication. He felt that an author known solely by his adven- 
tures in the lighter literature, throwing down the gauntlet to professors 
of science, could not expect absolute fairness, and he had no hope but 
in discussions led by wisdom and candor. Meeting me, he said, 
"Have you read 'Eureka?'" I answered "Not yet: I have just glanced 
at the notice of it by Willis, who thinks it contains no more fact than 
fantasy, and I am sorry to see — sorry if it be true — suggests that it 
corresponds in tone with that gathering of sham and obsolete hy- 
potheses addressed to fanciful tyros, the "Vestiges of Creation;' and 
our good and really wise friend Bush, whom you will admit to be of 
all the professors, in temper one of the most habitually just, thinks 
that while you may have guessed very shrewdly, it would not be 
difficult to suggest many difficulties in the way of your doctrine." 
"It is by no means ingenuous," he replied, "to hint that there are 
such difficulties, and yet to leave them unsuggested. I challenge the 
investigation of every point in the book. I deny that there are any 
difficulties which I have not met and overthrown. Injustice is done 
me by the application of this word 'guess:' I have assumed nothing 
and proved a//." In his preface he wrote: "To the few who love me 
and whom I love ; to those who feel rather than to those who think ; 
to the dreamers and those who put faith in dreams as in the only 
realities — I offer this book of truths, not in the character of Truth- 
Teller, but for the beauty that abounds in its truth: constituting it 
true. To these I present the composition as an Art-Product alone : — 
let us say as a Romance ; or, if it be not urging too lofty a claim, as a 
Poem. What I here propound is true: therefore it cannot die: or if 
by any means it be now trodden down so that it die, it will rise again 
to the life everlasting." 

When I read "Eureka" I could not help but think it immeasurably 
superior as an illustration of genius to the "Vestiges of Creation;" 
and as I admired the poem, (except the miserable attempt at humor 
in what purports to be a letter found in a bottle floating on the Mare 
tenebrarum,) so I regretted its pantheism, which is not necessary to its 
main design. To some of the objections to his work he made this 
answer in a letter to Mr. C. F. Hoffman, then editor of the "Literary 
World:" 

"Dear Sir: — In your paper of July 29, I find some comments on 'Eureka,' a 
late book of my own ; and I know you too well to suppose, for a moment, that you 
will refuse me the privilege of a few words in reply. I feel, even, that I might 



298 APPENDIX 

safely claim, from Mr. Hoffman, the right, which every author has, of replying to 
his critic tone for tone — that is to say, of answering your correspondent, flippancy 
by flippancy and sneer by sneer — but, in the first place, I do not wish to disgrace 
the 'World' ; and, in the second, I feel that I never should be done sneering, in 
the present instance, were I once to begin. Lamartine blames Voltaire for the use 
which he made of (ruse) misrepresentation, in his attacks on the priesthood ; but 
our young students of Theology do not seem to be aware that in defence, or what 
they fancy to be defence, of Christianity, there is anything wrong in such gentle- 
manly peccadillos as the deliberate perversion of an author's text — to say nothing 
of the minor indecora of reviewing a book without reading it and without having 
the faintest suspicion of what it is about. 

"You will understand that it is merely the misrepresentations of the critique in 
question to which I claim the privilege of reply: — the mere opinions of the writer 
can be of no consequence to me — and I should imagine of very little to himself — 
that is to say if he knows himself, personally, as well as / have the honor of know- 
ing him. The first misrepresentation is contained in this sentence: — 'This letter 
is a keen burlesque on the Aristotelian or Baconian methods of ascertaining Truth, 
both of which the writer ridicules and despises, and pours forth his rhapsodical 
ecstasies in a glorification of the third mode — the noble art of guessing.' What I 
really say is this: — That there is no absolute certainty either in the Aristotelian or 
Baconian process — that, for this reason, neither Philosophy is so profound as it 
fancies itself — and that neither has a right to sneer at that seemingly imaginative 
process called Intuition (by which the great Kepler attained his laws;) since 
'Intuition,' after all, 'is but the conviction arising from those inductions or de- 
ductions of which the processes are so shadowy as to escape our consciousness, 
elude our reason or defy our capacity of expression.' The second misrepresenta- 
tion runs thus : — 'The developments of electricity and the formation of stars and 
suns, luminous and non-luminous, moons and planets, with their rings, &c., is 
deduced, very much according to the nebular theory of Laplace, from the principle 
propounded above.' Now the impression intended to be made here upon the 
reader's mind, by the 'Student of Theology,' is, evidently, that my theory may 
all be very well in its way, but that it is nothing but Laplace over again, with some 
modiacations that he (the Student of Theology) cannot regard astat all important. 
I have only to say that no gentleman can accuse me of the disingenuousness here 
implied; inasmuch as, having proceeded with my theory up to that point at which 
Laplace's theory meets it, I then give Laplace's theory in full, with the expression 
of my firm conviction of its absolute truth at all points. The ground covered by 
the great French astronomer compares with that covered by my theory, as a 
bubble compares with the ocean on which it floats; nor has he the slightest allusion 
to the 'principle propounded above,' the principle of Unity being the source of all 
things — the principle of Gravity being merely the Reaction of the Divine Act 
which irradiated all things from Unity. In fact, no point of my theory has been 
even so much as alluded to by Laplace. I have not considered it necessary, here, 
to speak of the astronomical knowledge displayed in the 'stars and suns' of the 
Student of Theology, nor to hint that it would be better grammar to say that 
'development and formation" are, than that development and formation is. The 
third misrepresentation lies in a foot-note, where the critic says: — 'Further than 
this, Mr. Poe's claim that he can account for the existence of all organized beings — 
man included — merely from those principles on which the origin and present ap- 



APPENDIX 299 

pearance of suns and worlds are explained, must be set down as mere bald asser- 
tion, without a particle of evidence. In other words we should term it arrant 
fudge.' The perversion at this point is involved in a wilful misapplication of the 
word 'principles.* I say 'wilful' ; because, at page 63, I am particularly careful to 
distinguish between the principles proper. Attraction and Repulsion, and those 
merely resultant ^fc-principles which control the universe in detail. To these sub- 
principles, swayed by the immediate spiritual influence of Deity, I leave, without 
examination, all that which the Student of Theology so roundly asserts I account 
for on the principles which account for the constitution of suns, 62c. 

"In the third column of his 'review,' the critic says: — "He asserts that each soul 
is its own God — its own Creator.' What I do assert is, that 'each soul is, in part, 
its own God — its own Creator.' Just below, the critic says: — 'After all these con- 
tradictory propoundings concerning God we would remind him of what he lays 
down on page 28 — 'of this Godhead in itself he alone is not imbecile — he alone is 
not impious who propounds nothing. A man who thus conclusively convicts him- 
self of imbecility and impiety needs no further refutation.' Now the sentence, 
as I wrote it, and as / find it printed on that very page which the critic refers to 
and which must have been lying before him while he quoted my words, runs thus: — 
'Of this Godhead, in itself, he alone is not imbecile, &c., who propounds nothing.' 
By the italics, as the critic well knew, I design to distinguish between the two 
possibilities — that of a knowledge of God through his works and that of a knowl- 
edge of Him in his essential nature. The Godhead, in itself, is distinguished from 
the Godhead observed in its effects. But our critic is zealous. Moreover, being a 
divine, he is honest — ingenuous. It is his duty to pervert my meaning by omitting 
my italics — ^just as, in the sentence previously quoted, it was his Christian duty 
to falsify my argument by leaving out the two words, 'in part,' upon which turns 
the whole force — indeed the whole intelligibility of my proposition. 

"Were these 'misrepresentations' (is that the name for them?) made for any less 
serious a purpose than that of branding my book as 'impious' and myself as a 
'pantheist,' a "polytheist,' a Pagan, or a God knows what (and indeed I care very 
little so it be not a 'Student of Theology,') I would have permitted their dishonesty 
to pass unnoticed, through pure contempt for the boyishness — for the turn-down- 
shirt-collar-ness of their tone: — but, as it is, you will pardon me, Mr. Editor, that 
I have been compelled to expose a 'critic' who, courageously preserving his own 
anonymosity, takes advantage of my absence from the city to misrepresent, and 
thus villify me, by name. 

"Fordham, September 20, 1848." "Edgar A. PoE." 

From this time Poe did not write much; he had quarrelled with the 
conductors of the chief magazines for which he had previously written, 
and they no longer sought his assistance. In a letter to a friend, he 
laments the improbabilities of an income from literary labor, saying : 

"I have represented to you as merely an ambitious simpleton, anxious to 

get into society with the reputation of conducting a magazine which somebody 
behind the curtain always prevents him from quite damning with his stupidity; 
he is a knave^nd a beast. I cannot write any more for the Milliner's Book, where 

T n prints his feeble and very quietly made dilutions of other people's reviews; 

and you know that can afford to pay but little, though I am glad to do any- 



300 APPENDIX 

thing for a good fellow like . In this emergency I sell articles to the vulgar and 

trashy , for $5 a piece. I enclose my last, cut out, lest you should 

see by my sending the paper in what company I am forced to appear." 

His name was now frequently associated with that of one of the 
most brilliant women of New England, and it was publicly announced 
that they were to be married. He had first seen her on his way from 
Boston, when he visited that city to deliver a poem before the Lyceum 
there. Restless, near the midnight, he wandered from his hotel near 
where she lived, until he saw her walking in a garden. He related the 
incident afterward in one of his most exquisite poems, worthy of him- 
self, of her, and of the most exalted passion. 

"I SAW thee once — once only — years ago; 
I must not say how many — but not many. 
It was a July midnight; and from out 
A full-orbed moon, that, like thine own soul, soaring. 
Sought a precipitate pathway up through heaven. 
There fell a silvery-silken veil of light. 
With quietude, and sultriness, and slumber, 
Upon the upturn'd faces of a thousand 
Roses that grew in an enchanted garden, 
Where no wind dared to stir, unless on tiptoe — 
Fell on the upturn'd faces of these roses 
That gave out, in return for the love-light. 
Their odorous souls in an ecstatic death — 
Fell on the upturn'd faces of these roses 
That smiled and died in this parterre, enchanted 
By thee, and by the poetry of thy presence. 

"Clad all in white, upon a violet bank 
I saw thee half reclining; while the moon 
Fell on the upturn'd faces of the roses. 
And on thine own, upturn'd — alas, in sorrow! 

"Was it not Fate, that, on this July midnight — 
Was it not Fate, (whose name is also Sorrow,) 
That bade me pause before that garden-gate, 
To breathe the incense of those slumbering roses? 
No footstep stirred; the hated world all slept. 
Save only thee and me. (Oh, Heaven! — oh, God! 
How my heart beats in coupling those two words!) 
Save only thee and me. I paused — I looked — 
And in an instant all things disappeared. 
(Ah, bear in mind this garden was enchanted!) 
The pearly lustre of the moon went out : 
The mossy banks and the meandering paths. 
The happy flowers and the repining trees. 
Were seen no more: the very roses' odors 
Died in the arms of the adoring airs. 



APPENDIX 301 

All — all expired save thee — save less than thou: 
Save only the divine light in thing eyes — 
Save but the soul in thine uplifted eyes. 
I saw but them — they were the world to me. 
I saw but them — saw only them for hours — 
Saw only them until the moon went down. 
What wild heart-histories seemed to lie enwritten 
Upon those crystalline, celestial spheres! 
How dark a wo! yet how sublime a hope! 
How silently serene a sea of pride! 
How daring an ambition! yet how deep — 
How fathomless a capacity for love ! 

"But now, at length, dear Dian sank from sight 
Into a western couch of thunder-cloud; 
And thou, a ghost, amid the entombing trees 
Didst glide away. Only thine eyes remained. 
They would not go — they never yet have gone. 
Lighting my lonely pathway home that night. 
They have not left me (as my hopes have) since. 
They follow me — they lead me through the years. 
They are my ministers — yet I their slave. 
Their office is to illumine and enkindle — 
My duty, to be saved by their bright light. 
And purified in their electric fire. 
And sanctified in their elysian fire. 
They fill my soul with Beauty (which is Hope,) 
And are far up in Heaven — the stars I kneel to 
In the sad, silent watches of my night; 
While even in the meridian glare of day 
I see them still — two sweetly scintillant 
Venuses, unextinguished by the sun!" 

They were not married, and the breaking of the engagement affords 
a striking illustration of his character. He said to an acquaintance 
in New York, who congratulated with him upon the prospect of his 
union with a person of so much genius and so many virtues — "It is a 
mistake: I am not going to be married." "Why, Mr. Poe, I under- 
stand that the banns have been pubUshed." "I cannot help what 
you have heard, my dear Madam: but mark me, I shall not marry 
her." He left town the same evening, and the next day was reeling 
through the streets of the city which was the lady's home, and in the 
evening — that should have been the evening before the bridal — in his 
drunkenness he committed at her house such outrages as made neces- 
sary a summons of the police. Here was no insanity leading to indul- 
gence : he went from New York with a determination thus to induce 
an ending of the engagement; and he succeeded. 



302 APPENDIX 

Sometime in August, 1849, Mr. Poe left New- York for Virginia. 
In Philadelphia he encountered persons who had been his associates 
in dissipations while he lived there, and for several days he abandoned 
himself entirely to the control of his worst appetites. When his 
money was all spent, and the disprder of his dress evinced the ex- 
tremity of his recent intoxication, he asked in charity means for the 
prosecution of his journey to Richmond. There, after a few days, he 
joined a temperance society, and his conduct showed the earnestness 
of his determination to reform his life. He delivered in some of the 
principal towns of Virginia two lectures, which were well attended, 
and renewing his acquaintance with a lady whom he had known in his 
youth, he was engaged to marry her, and wrote to his friends that he 
should pass the remainder of his days among the scenes endeared by 
all his pleasantest recollections of youth. 

On Thursday, the fourth of October, he set out for New- York, to 
fulfil a literary engagement, and to prepare for his marriage. Arriving 
in Baltimore he gave his trunk to a porter, with directions to convey 
it to the cars which were to leave in an hour or two for Philadelphia, 
and went into a tavern to obtain some refreshment. Here he met 
acquaintances who invited him to drink ; all his resolutions and duties 
were soon forgotten ; in a few hours he was in such a state as is com- 
monly induced only by long-continued intoxication; after a night of 
insanity and exposure, he was carried to a hospital ; and there, on the 
evening of Sunday, the seventh of October, 1849, he died, at the age 
of thirty-eight years. 

It is a melancholy history. No author of as much genius had ever 
in this country as much unhappiness; but Poe's unhappiness was in 
an unusual degree the result of infirmities of nature, or of voluntary 
faults in conduct. A writer who evidently knew him well, and who 
comes before us in the "Southern Literary Messenger" as his de- 
fender, is "compelled to admit that the blemishes in his life were 
effects of character rather than of circumstances."* How this char- 
acter might have been modified by a judicious education of all his 
faculties I leave for the decision of others, but it will be evident to 
those who read this biography that the unchecked freedom of his 
earlier years was as unwise as its results were unfortunate. 

It is contended that the higher intelligences, in the scrutiny to which 
they appeal, are not to be judged by the common laws; but I appre- 
hend that this doctrine, as it is likely to be understood, is entirely 

*Southern Literary Messenger, Marsh, 1850, p. 179. 



APPENDIX ' 303 

wrong. All men are amenable to the same principles, to the extent 
of the parallelism of these principles with their experience; and the 
line of duty becomes only more severe as it extends into the clearer 
atmosphere of truth and beauty which is the life of genius. De 
mortuis nil nisi bonun is a common and an honorable sentiment, but 
its proper application would lead to the suppression of the histories 
of half of the most conspicuous of mankind ; in this case it is impossible 
on account of the notoriety of Mr. Poe's faults ; and it would be unjust 
to the living against whom his hands were always raised and who had 
no resort but in his outlawry from their sympathies. Moreover, his 
career is full of instruction and warning, and it has always been made 
a portion of the penalty of wrong that its anatomy should be displayed 
for the common study and advantage. 

The character of Mr. Poe's genius has been so recently and so 
admirably discussed by Mr. Lowell, with whose opinions on the sub- 
ject I for the most part agree, that I shall say but little of it here, 
having already extended this notice beyond the limits at first de- 
signed. There is a singular harmony between his personal and his 
literary qualities. St. Pierre, who seemed to be without any nobility 
in his own nature, in his writings appeared to be moved only by the 
finest and highest impulses. Poe exhibits scarcely any virtue in either 
his life or his writings. Probably there is not another instance in the 
literature of our language in which so much has been accomplished 
without a recognition or a manifestation of conscience. Seated be- 
hind the intelligence, and directing it, according to its capacities, 
Conscience is the parent of whatever is absolutely and unquestionably 
beautiful in art as well as in conduct. It touches the creations of the 
mind and they have life; without it they have never, in the range of 
its just action, the truth and naturalness which are approved by 
universal taste or in enduring reputation. In Poe's works there is 
constantly displayed the most touching melancholy, the most extreme 
and terrible despair, but never reverence or remorse. 

His genius was peculiar, and not, as he himself thought, various. 
He remarks in one of his letters : 

"There is one particular in which I have had wrong done me, and it may not be 
indecorous in me to call your attention to it. The last selection of my tales was 
made from about seventy by one of our great little cliquists and claquers, Wiley 
and Putnam's reader, Duyckinck. He has what he thinks a taste for ratiocina- 
tion, and has accordingly made up the book mostly of analytic stories. But this 
is not representing my mind in its various phases — it is not giving me fair play. 
In writing these tales one by one, at long intervals, I have kept the book unity 



304 APPENDIX 

always in mind — that is, each has been composed with reference to its effect as 
part of a whole. In this view, one of my chief aims has been the widest diversity 
of subject, thought, and especially tone and manner of handling. Were all my 
tales now before me in a large volume, and as the composition of another, the 
merit which would principally arrest my attention would be their wide diversity 
and variety. You will be surprised to hear me say that, (omitting one or two of my 
first efforts,) I do not consider any one of my stories better than another. There 
is a vast variety of kinds, and, in degree of value, these kinds vary — but each tale 
is equally good of its kind. The loftiest kind is that of the highest imagination — 
and for this reason only 'Ligeia' may be called my best tale." 

But it seems to me that this selection of his tales was altogether 
judicious. Had it been submitted to me I might indeed have changed 
it in one or two instances, but I should not have replaced any tale by 
one of a different tone. One of the qualities upon which Poe prided 
himself was his humor, and he has left us a large number of composi- 
tions in this department, but except a few paragraphs in his "Margi- 
nalia," scarcely anything which it would not have been injurious to 
his reputation to republish. His realm was on the shadowy confines 
of human experience, among the abodes of crime, gloom, and horror, 
and there he delighted to surround himself with images of beauty and 
of terror, to raise his solemn palaces and towers and spires in a night 
upon which should rise no sun. His minuteness of detail, refinement 
of reasoning, and propriety and power of language — the perfect keep- 
ing (to borrow a phrase from another domain of art) and apparent 
good faith with which he managed the evocation and exhibition of 
his strange and spectral and revolting creations — gave him an aston- 
ishing mastery over his readers, so that his books were closed as one 
would lay aside the nightmare or the spells of opium. The analytical 
subtlety evinced in his works has frequently been over estimated, 
as I have before observed, because it has not been sufficiently con- 
sidered that his mysteries were composed with the express design of 
being dissolved. When Poe attempted the illustration of the pro- 
founder operations of the mind, as displayed in written reason or in 
real action, he frequently failed entirely. 

In poetry, as in prose, he was eminently successful in the metaphysi- 
cal treatment of the passions. His poems are constructed with won- 
derful ingenuity, and finished with consummate art. They display 
a sombre and weird imagination, and a taste almost faultless in the 
apprehension of that sort of beauty which was most agreeable to his 
temper. But they evince little genuine feeling, and less of that spon- 
taneous ecstacy which gives its freedom, smoothness and naturalness 
to immortal verse. His own account of the composition of "The 



I 



APPENDIX 305 

Raven," discloses his methods — the absence of all impulse, and the 
absolute control of calculation and mechanism. That curious analysis 
of the processes by which he wrought would be incredible if from 
another hand. 

He was not remarkably original in invention. Indeed some of his 
plagiarisms are scarcely paralleled for their audacity in all literary 
history: For instance, in his tale of "The Pit and the Pendulum," the 
complicate machinery upon which the interest depends is borrowed 
from a story entitled "Vivenzio, or Italian Vengeance," by the author 
of "The First and Last Dinner," in "Blackwood's Magazine." And 
I remember having been shown by Mr. Longfellow, several years ago, 
a series of papers which constitute a demonstration that Mr. Poe was 
indebted to him for the idea of "The Haunted Palace," one of the 
most admirable of his poems, which he so pertinaciously asserted had 
been used by Mr. Longfellow in the production of his "Beleaguered 
City." Mr. Longfellow's poem was written two or three years before 
the first publication of that by Poe, and it was during a portion of 
this time in Poe's possession; but it was not printed, I believe, until 
a few weeks after the appearance of "The Haunted Palace." "It 
would be absurd," as Poe himself said many times, "to believe the 
similarity of these pieces entirely accidental." This was the nrst 
cause of all that malignant criticism which for so many years he car- 
ried on against Mr. Longfellow. In his "Marginalia" he borrowed 
largely, especially from Coleridge, and I have omitted in the repub- 
lication of these papers, numerous paragraphs which were rather com- 
piled than borrowed from one of the profoundest and wisest of our 
own scholars.* 

*I have neither space, time, nor inclination for a continuation of this subject, and 
I add but one other instance, in the words of the Philadelphia "Saturday Evening 
Post," — published while Mr. Poe was living: 

"One of the most remarkable plagiarisms was perpetrated by Mr. Poe, late of 
the Broadway Journal, whose harshness as a critic and assumption of peculiar 
originality, makes the fault, in his case, more glaring. This gentleman, a few 
years ago, in Philadelphia, published a work on Conchology as original, when in 
reality it was a copy, nearly verbatim, of The Text-Book of Conchology, by 
Capt. Thomas Brown,' printed in Glasgow in 1833, a duplicate of which we have 
in our library. Mr. Poe actually took out a copyright for the American edition 
of Capt. Brown's work, and, omitting all mention of the English original, pre- 
tended, in the preface, to have been under great obligations to several scientific 
gentlemen of this city. It is but justice to add, that in the second edition of this 
book, published lately in Philadelphia, the name of Mr. Poe is withdrawn from 
the title-page, and his initials only affixed to the preface. But the affair is one of 
the most curious on record." 



306 APPENDIX 

In criticism, as Mr. Lowell justly remarks, Mr. Poe had "a scientific 
precision and coherence of logic;" he had remarkable dexterity in the 
dissection of sentences ; but he rarely ascended from the particular to 
the general, from subjects to principles: he was familiar with the 
microscope but never looked through the telescope. His criticisms 
are of value to the degree in which they are demonstrative, but his 
unsupported assertions and opinions were so apt to be influenced by 
friendship or enmity, by the desire to please or the fear to offend, or 
by his constant ambition to surprise, or produce a sensation, that 
they should be received in all cases with distrust of their fairness. A 
volume might be filled with literary judgments by him as antagonisti- 
cal and inconsistent as the sharpest antitheses. For example, when 
Mr. Laughton Osborn's romance, "The Confessions of a Poet," came 
out, he reviewed it in "The Southern Literary Messenger," saying: 

"There is nothing of the vates about the author. He is no poet — and most posi- 
tively he is no prophet. He avers upon his wood of honor that in commencing this 
work he loads a pistol and places it upon the table. He further states that, upon 
coming to a conclusion, it is his intention to blow out what he supposes to be his 
brains. Now this is excellent. But, even with so rapid a writer as the poet must 
undoubtedly be, there would be some little difficulty in completing the book under 
thirty days or thereabouts. The best of powder is apt to sustain injury by lying 
so long 'in the load." We sincerely hope the gentleman took the precaution to 
examine his priming before attempting the rash act. A flash in the pan — and in 
such a case — were a thing to be lamented. Indeed there would be no answer- 
ing for the consequences. We might even have a second series of the 'Con- 
fessions.'" — Southern Literary Messenger, i. 459. 

This review was attacked, particularly in the Richmond "Com- 
piler," and Mr. Poe felt himself called upon to vindicate it to the pro- 
prietor of the magazine, to whom he wrote : 

"There is no necessity of giving the 'Compiler' a reply. The book is silly 
enough of itself, without the aid of any controversy concerning it. I have read it, 
from beginning to end, and was very much amused at it. My opinion of it is 
pretty nearly the opinion of the press at large. I have heard no person offer one 
serious word in its defence." — Letter to T. Vi^. White. 

Afterwards Mr. Poe became personally acquainted with the author 
and he then wrote, in his account of "The Literati of New- York City," 
as follows : 

"The Confessions of a Poet made much noise in the literary world, and no little 
curiosity was excited in regard to its author, who was generally supposed to be 
John Neal. . . . The 'Confessions,' however, far surpassed any production of Mr. 
Neal's . . . He has done nothing which, as a whole, is even resfjectable, and 'The 



APPENDIX 307 

Confessions' are quite remarkable for their artistic unity and perfection. But on 
higher regards they are to be commended. / do not think, indeed, that a better book 
of its kind has been written in America. ... Its scenes of passion are intensely 
wrought, its incidents are striking and original, its sentiments audacious and sug- 
gestive at least, if not at all times tenable. In a word, it is that rare thing, a fiction 
of power without rudeness." 

I will adduce another example of the same kind. In a notice of the 
"Democratic Review," for September, 1845, Mr. Poe remarks of Mr. 
William A. Jone's paper on American Humor: 

"There is only one really bad article in the number, and that is insufferable: nor 
do we think it the less a nuisance because it inflicts upon ourselves individually a 
passage of maudlin compliment about our being a most 'ingenious critic' and 
'prose poet, ' with some other things of a similar kind. We thank for his good word 
no man who gives palpable evidence, in other cases than our own, of his incapacity, 
to distinguish the false from the true — the right from the wrong. If we are an 
ingenious critic, or a prose poet, it is not because Mr. William Jones says so. The 
truth is that this essay on 'American Humor' is contemptible both in a moral and 
literary sense — is the composition of an imitator and a quack — and disgraces the 
magazine in which it makes its appearance." — Broadway Journal, Vol. ii. No. 11. 

In the following week he reconsidered this matter, opening his paper 
for a defence of Mr. Jones; but at the close of it said — 

"If we have done Mr. Jones injustice, we beg his pardon: but we do not think 
we have." 

Yet in a subsequent article in "Graham's Magazine," on "Critics 
and Criticism," he says of Mr. Jones — referring only to writings of his 
that had been for years before the public when he printed the above 
paragraphs : 

"Our most analytic, if not altogether our best critic, (Mr. Whipple, perhaps, ex- 
cepted,) is Mr. William A. Jones, author of 'The Analyst.' How he would write 
elaborate criticisms I cannot say; but his summary judgments of authors are, in 
general, discriminative and profound. In fact, his papers on Emerson and on 
Macaulay, published in 'Arcturus,' are better than merely 'profound,' if we take 
the word in its now desecrated sense ; for they are at once pointed, lucid, and just : 
— as summaries, leaving nothing to be desired." 

I will not continue the display of these inconsistencies. As I have 
already intimated, a volume might be filled with passages to show 
that his criticisms were guided by no sense of duty, and that his 
opinions were so variable and so liable to be influenced by unworthy 
considerations as to be really of no value whatever. 

It was among his remarkable habits that he preserved with scrupu- 
lous care everything that was published respecting himself or his 



308 APPENDIX 

works, and everything that was written to him in letters that could 
be used in any way for the establishment or extension of his reputa- 
tion. In Philadelphia, in 1843, he prepared with his own hands a 
sketch of his 1 ife for a paper called * The Museum. ' ' Many parts of it 
are untrue, but I refer to it for the purpose of quoting a characteristic 
instance of perversion in the reproduction of compliments: 

"Of 'William Wilson,' Mr. Washington Irving says: 'It is managed in a highly- 
picturesque style, and its singular and mysterious interest is ably sustained 
throughout. In point of mere style, it is, perhaps, even superior to 'The House of 
Usher.' It is simpler. In the latter composition, he seems to have been dis- 
trustful of his effects, or, rather, too solicitous of bringing them forth fully to the 
eye, and thus, perhaps, has laid on too much coloring. He has erred, however, 
on the safe side, that of exurberance, and the evil might easily be remedied, by 
relieving the style of some of its epithets:' [since done.] 'There would be no fear 
of injuring the graphic effect, which is powerful.' The italics are Mr. Irving's 
own." 

Now Mr. Irving had said in a private letter that he thought the 
"House of Usher" was clever, and that "a volume of similar stories 
would be well received by the public." Poe sent him a magazine con- 
taining "William Wilson," asking his opinion of it, and Mr. Irving, 
expressly declining to publish a word upon the subject, remarked in 
the same manner, that "the singular and mysterious interest is well 
sustained," and that in point of style the tale was "much better" than 
the "House of Usher," which, he says, "might be improved by reliev- 
ing the style from some of the epithets : there is no danger of destroy- 
ing the graphic effect, which is powerful." There is not a word in 
italics in Mr. Irving's letter, the meaning of which is quite changed by 
Mr. Poe's alterations. And this letter was not only published in the 
face of an implied prohibition, but made to seem like a deliberately 
expressed judgment in a public reviewal. In the same way Mr. Poe 
published the following sentence as an extract from a letter by Miss 
Barrett: 

"Our great poet, Mr. Browning, author of Paracelsus, etc. is enthusiastic in his 
admiration of the rhythm." 

But on turning to Miss Barrett's letter I find that she wrote: 

"Our great poet, Mr. Browning, the author of 'Paracelsus,' and 'Bells and Pome- 
granates,* was struck much by the rhythm of that poem," 

The piece alluded to is "The Raven." 

It is not true, as has been frequently alleged since Mr. Poe's death, 
that his writings were above the popular taste, and therefore without 



APPENDIX 309 

a suitable market in this country. His poems were worth as much 
to magazines as those of Bryant or Longfellow, (though none of the 
publishers paid him half as large a price for them,) and his tales were 
as popular as those of Willis, who has been commonly regarded as 
the best magazinist of his time. He ceased to write for "The Lady's 
Book" in consequence of a quarrel induced by Mr. Godey's justifiable 
refusal to print in that miscellany his "Reply to Dr. English," and 
though in the poor fustian published under the signature of "George 
R. Graham," in answer to some remarks upon Poe's character in 
"The Tribune," that individual is made to assume a passionate friend- 
ship for the deceased author that would have become a Pythias, it is 
known that the personal ill-will on both sides was such that for some 
four or five years not a line by Poe was purchased for "Graham's 
Magazine." To quote again the "Defence of Mr. Poe" in the "South- 
ern Literary Messenger:" 

"His changeable humors, his irregularities, his caprices, his total disregard of 
everything and body, save the fancy in his head, prevented him from doing well 
in the world. The evils and sufferings that poverty brought upon him, soured his 
nature, and deprived him of faith in human beings. This was evident to the eye — 
he believed in nobody, and cared for nobody. Such a mental condition of course 
drove away all those who would otherwise have stood by him in his hours of trial. 
He became, and was, an Ishmaelite." 

After having, in no ungenerous spirit, presented the chief facts in 
Mr. Poe's history, not designedly exaggerating his genius, which none 
held in higher admiration, not bringing into bolder relief than was 
just and necessary his infirmities, I am glad to offer a portraiture of 
some of his social qualities, equally beautiful, and — so changeable 
and inconsistent was the man — as far as it goes, truthful. Speaking 
of him one day soon after his death, with the late Mrs. Osgood, the 
beauty of whose character had made upon Poe's mind that impression 
which it never failed to produce upon minds capable of the appre- 
hension of the finest traits in human nature, she said she did not doubt 
that my view of Mr. Poe, which she knew indeed to be the common 
view, was perfectly just, as it regarded him in his relations with men ; 
but to women he was different, and she would write for me some 
recollections of him to be placed beside my harsher judgments in any 
notice of his life that the acceptance of the appointment to be his 
literary executor might render it necessary for me to give to the world. 
She was an invalid — dying of that consumption by which in a few 
weeks she was removed to heaven, and calling for pillows to support 
her while she wrote, she drew this sketch: 



310 APPENDIX 

"You ask me, my friend, to write for you my reminiscenses of Edgar Poe. For 
you, who knew and understood my affectionate interest in him, and my frank 
acknowledgment of that interest to all who had a claim upon my confidence, for 
you, I will willingly do so. I think no one could know him — no one has known him 
personally — certainly no woman — without feeling the same interest. I can sin- 
cerely say, that although I have frequently heard of aberrations on his part from 
'the straight and narrow path,' I have never seen him otherwise than gentle, 
generous, well-bred, and fastidiously refined. To a sensitive and delicately- 
nurtured woman, there was a peculiar and irresistible charm in the chivalric, 
graceful, and almost tender reverence with which he invariably approached all 
women who won his respect. It was this which first commanded and always re- 
tained my regard for him. 

"I have been told that when his sorrows and pecuniary embarrassments had 
driven him to the use of stimulants, which a less delicate organization might have 
borne without injury, he was in the habit of speaking disrespectfully of the ladies 
of his acquaintance. It is difficult for me to believe this; for to me, to whom he 
came during the year of our acquaintance for counsel and kindness in all his many 
anxieties and griefs, he never spoke irreverently of any woman save one, and then 
only in my defence, and though I rebuked him for his momentary forgetfulness 
of the respect due to himself and to me, I could not but forgive the offence for the 
sake of the generous impulse which prompted it. Yet even were these sad rumors 
true of him, the wise and well-informed knew how to regard, as they would the 
impetuous anger of a spoiled infant, balked of its capricious will, the equally 
harmless and unmeaning phrenzy of that stray child of Poetry and Passion. For 
the few unwomanly and slander-loving gossips who have injured him and them- 
selves only by repeating his ravings, when in such moods they have accepted his 
society, I have only to vouchsafe my wonder and my pity. They cannot surely 
harm the true and pure, who, reverencing his genius and pitying his misfortunes 
and his errors, endeavored, by their timely kindness and sympathy, to soothe his 
sad career. 

"It was in his own simple yet poetical home that, to me the character of Edgar 
Poe appeared in its most beautiful light. Playful, affectionate, witty, alternately 
docile and wayward as a petted child — for his young, gentle and idolized wife, 
and for all who came, he had even in the midst of his most harassing literary 
duties, a kind word, a pleasant smile, a graceful and courteous attention. At his 
desk beneath the romantic picture of his loved and lost Lenore, he would sit, hour 
after hour, patient, assiduous and uncomplaining, tracing, in an exquisitely clear 
chirography and with almost superhuman swiftness, the lightning thoughts — the 
'rare and radiant' fancies as they flashed through his wonderful and ever wakeful 
brain. I recollect, one morning, towards the close of his residence in this city, 
when he seemed unusually gay and light-hearted. Virginia, his sweet wife, had 
written me a pressing invitation to come to them; and I, who never could resist 
her affectionate summons, and who enjoyed his society far more in his own home 
than elsewhere, hastened to Amity-street. I found him just completing his series 
of papers entitled 'The Literati of New- York.' 'See,' said he, displaying, in laugh- 
ing triumph, several little rolls of narrow paper, (he always wrote thus for the 
press,) 'I am going to show you, by the difference of length in these, the different 
degrees of estimation in which I hold all you literary people. In each of these, 
one of you is rolled up and fully discussed. Come, Virginia, help me!' And one 



APPENDIX 311 

by one they unfolded them. At last they came to one which seemed interminable. 
Virginia laughingly ran to one comer of the room with one end, and her husband 
to the opposite with the other. 'And whose lengthened sweetness long drawn 
out is that?" said I. 'Hear her!' he cried, 'just as if her little vain heart didn't tell 
her it's herself!' 

"My first meeting with the poet was at the Astor House. A few days previous, 
Mr. Willis had handed me, at the table d'hote, that strange and thrilling poem 
entitled 'The Raven,' saying that the author wanted my opinion of it. Its effect 
upon me was so singular, so like that of 'wierd, unearthly music,' that it was with a 
feeling almost of dread, I heard he desired an introduction. Yet I could not refuse 
without seeming ungrateful, because I had just heard of his enthusiastic and 
partial eulogy of my writings, in his lecture on American Literature. I shall never 
forget the morning when I was summoned to the drawing-room by Mr. Willis 
to receive him. With his proud and beautiful head erect, his dark eyes flashing 
with the elective light of feeling and of thought, a peculiar, an inimitable blending 
of sweetness and hauteur in his expression and manner, he greeted me, calmly, 
gravely, almost coldly ; yet with so marked an earnestness that I could not help 
being deeply impressed by it. From that moment until his death we were friends ; 
although we met only during the first year of our acquaintance. And in his last 
words, ere reason had forever left her imperial throne in that overtasked brain, 
I have a touching memento of his undying faith and friendship. 

"During that year, while travelling for my health, I maintained a correspond- 
ence with Mr. Poe, in accordance with the earnest entreaties of his wife, who 
imagined that my influence over him had a restraining and beneficial effect. It 
had, as far as this — that having solemnly promised me to give up the use of 
stimulants, he so firmly respected his promise and me, as never once, during our 
whole acquaintance, to appear in my presence when in the slightest degree affected 
by them. Of the charming love and confidence that existed between his wife and 
himself, always delightfully apparent to me, in spite of the many little poetical 
episodes, in which the impassioned romance of his temperament impelled him to 
indulge; of this I cannot speak too earnestly — too warmly. I believe she was the 
only woman whom he ever truly loved; and this is evidenced by the exquisite 
pathos of the little poem lately written, called Annabel Lee, of which she was the 
subject, and which is by far the most natural, simple, tender and touchingly beau- 
tiful of all his songs. I have heard it said that it was intended to illustrate a late 
love affair of the author; but they who believe this, have in their dullness, evi- 
dently misunderstood or missed the beautiful meaning latent in the most lovely 
of all its verses — where he says, 

"A wind blew out of a cloud, chilling 
My beautiful Annabel Lee, 
So that her high-born kinsmen came. 
And bore her away from me." 

"There seems a strange and almost profane disregard of the sacred purity and 
spiritual tenderness of this delicious ballad, in thus overlooking the allusion to the 
kindred angels and the heavenly Father of the lost and loved and unforgotten wife. 

"But it was in his conversations and his letters, far more than in his published 
poetry and prose writings, that the genius of Poe was most gloriously revealed. 
His letters were divinely beautiful, and for hours I have listened to him, entranced 



312 APPENDIX 

by strains of such pure and almost celestial eloquence as I have never read or 
heard elsewhere. Alas! in the thrilling words of Stoddard, 

"He might have soared in the morning light, 
But he built his nest with the birds of night! 
But he lies in dust, and the stone is rolled 
Over the sepulchre dim and cold ; 
He has cancelled all he has done or said. 
And gone to the dear and holy dead. 
Let us forget the path he trod, 
And leave him now, to his Maker, God." 

The influence of Mr. Poe's aims and vicissitudes upon his literature, 
was more conspicuous in his later than in his earlier writings. Nearly 
all that he wrote in the last two or three years — including much of his 
best poetry, — was in some sense biographical; in draperies of his 
imagination, those who take the trouble to trace his steps, will per- 
ceive, but slightly concealed, the figure of himself. The lineaments 
here disclosed, I think, are not different from those displayed in this 
biography, which is but a filling up of the picture. Thus far the few 
criticisms of his life or works that I have ventured have been sug- 
gested by the immediate examination of the points to which they 
referred. I add but a few words, of more general description. 

In person he was below the middle height, slenderly but compactly 
formed, and in his better moments he had in an eminent degree that 
air of gentlemanliness which men of a lower order seldom succeed in 
acquiring. 

His conversation was at times almost supra-mortal in its eloquence. 
His voice was modulated with astonishing skill, and his large and 
variably expressive eyes looked repose or shot fiery tumult into theirs 
who listened, while his own face glowed, or was changeless in pallor, 
as his imagination quickened his blood or drew it back frozen to his 
heart. His imagery was from the worlds which no mortals can see 
but with the vision of genius. Suddenly starting from a proposition, 
exactly and sharply defined, in terms of utmost simplicity and clear- 
ness, he rejected the forms of customary logic, and by a crystalline 
process of accretion, built up his ocular demonstrations in forms of 
gloomiest and ghastliest grandeur, or in those of the most airy and 
delicious beauty — so minutely and distinctly, yet so rapidly, that the 
attention which was yielded to him was chained till it stood among his 
wonderful creations — till he himself dissolved the spell, and brought 



APPENDIX 313 

his hearers back to common and base existence, by vulgar fancies or 
exhibitions of the ignoblest passion. 

He was at all times a dreamer — dwelling in ideal realms — in heaven 
or hell — peopled with the creatures and the accidents of his brain. 
He walked the streets, in madness or melancholy, with lips moving in 
distinct curses, or with eyes upturned in passionate prayer, (never 
for himself, for he felt, or professed to feel, that he was already 
damned, but) for their happiness who at the moment were objects of 
his idolatry ; — or, with his glances introverted to a heart gnawed with 
anguish, and with a face shrouded in gloom, he would brave the 
wildest storms ; and all night, with drenched garments and arms beat- 
ing the winds and rains, would speak as if to spirits that at such times 
only could be evoked by him from the Aidenn, close by whose portals 
his disturbed soul sought to forget the ills to which his constitution 
subjected him — close by the Aidenn where were those he loved — the 
Aidenn which he might never see, but in fitful glimpses, as its gates 
opened to receive the less fiery and more happy natures whose destiny 
to sin did not involve the doom of death. 

He seemed, except when some fitful pursuit subjugated his will and 
engrossed his faculties, always to bear the memory of some controlling 
sorrow. The remarkable poem of "The Raven" was probably much 
more nearly than has been supposed, even by those who were very 
intimate with him, a reflection and an echo of his own history. He 
was that bird's 

■■ unhappy master whom unmerciful Disaster 

Followed fast and followed faster till his songs one burden bore — 
Till the dirges of his Hope that melancholy burden bore 

Of 'Never — never more."' 

Every genuine author, in a greater or less degree, leaves in his works, 
whatever their design, traces of his personal character: elements of 
his immortal being, in which the individual survives the person. While 
we read the pages of the "Fall of the House of Usher," or of "Mesmeric 
Revelations," we see in the solemn and stately gloom which invests 
one and in the subtle metaphysical analysis of both, indications of 
the idiosyncracies — of what was most remarkable and peculiar — in 
the author's intellectual nature. But we see here only the better 
phases of his nature, only the symbols of his juster action, for his 
harsh experience had deprived him of all faith, in man or woman. 
He had made up his mind upon the numberless complexities of the 
social world, and the whole system with him was an imposture. This 



314 APPENDIX 

conviction gave a direction to his shrewd and naturally unamiable 
character. Still, though he regarded society as composed altogether of 
villains, the sharpness of his intellect was not of that kind which 
enabled him to cope with villany, while it continually caused him by 
overshots to fail of the success of honesty. He was in many respects 
like Francis Vivian, in Bulwer's novel of "The Caxtons." Passion, 
in him, comprehended many of the worst emotions which militate 
against human happiness. You could not contradict him, but you 
raised quick choler; you could not speak of wealth, but his cheek 
paled with gnawing envy. The astonishing natural advantages of 
this poor boy — his beauty, his readiness, the daring spirit that 
breathed around him like a fiery atmosphere — had raised his con- 
stitutional self-confidence into an arrogance that turned his very 
claims to admiration into prejudices against him. Irascible, envious — 
bad enough, but not the worst, for these salient angles were all 
varnished over with a cold repellant synicism, his passions vented 
themselves in sneers. There seemed to him no moral susceptibility; 
and, what was more remarkable in a proud nature, little or nothing 
of the true point of honor. He had, to a morbid excess, that desire to 
rise which is vulgarly called ambition, but no wish for the esteem of 
the love of his species ; only the hard wish to succeed — not shine, not 
serve — succeed, that he might have the right to despise a world which 
galled his self-conceit. 



INDEX 



INDEX 

Abnormal mental states result of heredity, 3 j 11 , 92 ; 1 1 5 ; as exhibited 
by Poe, 82,83,93,96-102. 

Adams* family mentioned, 14. 

Age of Poe when mental decline became evident, 69; Poe's "old age," 
70; arterio-sclerosis a part of old age, 95 ; arcus senilis evidence of, 
115. 

Aidenn, Griswold denies to Poe the right of entrance, 123 ; "A mono- 
logue in, 229-239. 

Al Aaraaf a speciman of early poetry, 25 ; read before a Boston audi- 
ence, 54. 

Alcoholic inheritance essential feature in dipsomania, 4, 5-6; in the 
Poe family, 14; as evidenced in the brother and sister of Poe, 15; 
a birthright of Poe, 17; alcohol, effect on capacity, 67, 111; Poe's 
use of, 35, 92; effect on alcoholics, 67; alcoholics not to be con- 
founded with "drunkards," 46; Dr. Janet quoted, 46-47; effect 
on Poe, 45 , 98 , 99 ; loss of memory, 7 ; stimulation necessary, 67. 

Alienists referred to, 3,7, 1 1 , 90; necessary preparation for, 143. 

"Allan," the use of in Edgar A. Poe's given name protested, 205. 

John Allan becomes Poe's guardian, 15; never adopted Poe, 16; be- 
comes estranged from Poe, 17; resents Poe's supervision because 
of "entangling alliances," 18; releases Poe from army by employ- 
ing a substitute, 23 ; assists Poe after leaving West Point, 25. 

Frances Allan (John Allan's first wife), warmly attached to Poe, 18. 

Louisa Allan (John Allan's second wife) quoted as to a substitute re- 
leasing Poe from the army, 19; quoted as to Poe's wanderings in 
Europe, 23; quarrels with Poe, 123. 

The Allan family skeleton mentioned, 17. 

"American Men of Letters" series contained Woodberry's Docu- 
mentary Biography, 198. 

Americana as collected by Duyckinck, 38; referrd to, 39. 

"American Whig Review" first published The Raven, 48. 

Amnesia occasionally occurs in chronic alcoholism, 7. 

Ancestral details of the Poe family unduly exploited, 204. 



318 INDEX 

Annabel Lee, not known when it was written, 55 ; not inspired by Mrs. 
Shelton, 191; quoted, 191. 

"Annie," Poe's real love, 87-88; Poe's letter to, quoted, 64-65; To 
Annie quoted, 88. 

Arcus senilis evidence of old age, 115. 

Army enlistment, details of a matter of doubt, 18; released by sub- 
stitute, 19. 

Arnold, Miss, married to David Poe, 14; suggested relationship to 
Benedict Arnold, 20. 

Arterio-sclerosis, necessarily develops with old age, 95. 

Athenaeum's estimate of Poe quoted, 129. 

Authors of America mentioned, 161. 

Baltimore referred to 24, 101, 222. 

Dr. Barine quoted by Lauvriere, 154. 

Baudelaire's defense of Poe discussed and partly quoted, 134-138. 

The Bells, slowly elaborated, 55; mentioned, 69, 71 , 161. 

Bend sinister highly prized as a coat-of-arms ornament, II. 

Berenice quoted by Lauvriere, 141. 

Bishop Berkeley, philosopher, poet and medical discoverer, 49; his 
name honored because it has been adopted by the University of 
California, 49. 

Biographers discussed, 3, 11, 117, 203. 

Biographers of Poe, referred to, 3; Baudelaire, 134-138; Briggs, 128 
Graham, 176-179, appendix; Griswold, 121-127, sqq, appendix 
Hannay, 129, 130, 189, 195, 197; Harrison, 203; Ingram, 196-197 
Lauvriere, 138-158; Stoddard, 193-194; Mrs. Weiss, 192-193 
Willis, 58, 160, 162; Mrs. Whitman, 183-188; Woodberry, 199-203. 

Sir Edmund T. Bewley, genealogist, 12. 

Biography contrasted with photography, 1 15-1 16; mentioned, 70, 71 ; 
201,203,209. 

The Black Cat, mentioned, 149. 

"Biographical Annual: Q)nsisting of Memoirs of Eminent Persons 
Recently Deceased," 119. 

Blind Tom an idiot savant, 69. 

George Borrow quoted as to his dingle "horrors," 30. 

Boston, birth-place of Poe, 19; referred to, 21 , 222. 

Brain congestion and degeneration in alcoholism referred to, 6, 7, 8, 111 . 



INDEX 319 

Briscoe, publisher of "Broadway Journal" displaces Briggs and gives 
Poe charge of the Journal, 54. 

Briggs associates Poe as joint editor of "The Broadway Journal," 50; 
his first impression of Poe, 50; leaves the Journal, 54; quoted on 
"Longfellow War," 51; estimate of Poe in preface to an early 
English edition of Poe's works, 128; accepted as authority by 
Lauvriere, 139. 

"The Broadway Journal," established by Briggs, 50; Poe becomes 
associate editor, 50; "Longfellow War" continued in, 51 ; becomes 
editor and owner, 54; contains few impxirtant Poe contributions, 
54; suspends publication, 57. 

Brown's Conchology referred to, 75. 

Sir Thomas Browne quoted by Griswold, 125-126; quotation referred 
to, 174. 

William Cullen Bryant, judged by Poe, 217; refuses to attend Poe's 

memorial, 222. 
W. E. Burton employs Poe as editor of "The Gentleman's Maga- 
zine," 40; disagrees with Poe's critical attitude, 40; threatened by 
Poe with suit because of some slanderous remark, 41 ; sells "The 
Gentleman's" to Graham, 43. 
Byron, referred to, 117. 
Carlyle referred to, 117. 

Dr. Carter quoted as to Poe's use of opium, 64. 
T. C. Clarke, quoted as to the effect of stimulants on Poe, 98; quoted 

as to pictures used to represent Poe, 206. 
Maria Clemm, aunt of Poe, 36; marries her daughter, Virginia, to 
Poe, 36; character described, 209-212; quoted as to Poe's mental 
state when he wrote "Eureka," 75; Poe writes to her during his 
Richmond illness, 99; Poe expresses wish to die with her, 100; 
describes Poe's serious illness, 94; intimate relations with Poe, 
83; Dr. Moran's letter to, as to Poe's death, quoted, 102-103; 
gives consent to Griswold's acting as Poe's editor, 158; quoted by 
Gill as to the method adopted by Griswold for becoming editor, 
159; received no royalty from Poe's works, 162; letter to "Annie" 
quoted, 162; dies in poverty, 162; referred to, 16, 85, 101, 102, 
107,109,160,161, 191, 195; the friend of Poe, 209-211; quoted as 
to her relations with Poe, 212, 217; photograph of, with poem To 
My Mother, prefacing page, 209. 



320 INDEX 

Virginia Clemm marries Poe, 36; discussed by Mayne Reed, 214-215; 

by Amanda Harris, 215-216; referred to, 58, 83. 
Coleridge referred to, 32, 45 ; in connection with Ancient Mariner, 48; 

as a dreamer of Kubla Khan, 68. 
Cruikshank referred to, 73. 

Cryptograms, Poe's peculiar faculty in solving, 68. 
"The Cypress Wreath: A Book of Consolation for those Who Mourn," 

119. 
Darwin Family, referred to, 14. 
"Defense of Edgar Allan Poe" by Dr. Moran quoted from, 104-109; 

written at request of Mrs. Shelton, 190. 
Delirium Tremens in alcoholism, 7, 98; Sartain's description of an 

attack in the life history of Poe, 96-97; as exhibited in Poe's last 

illness, 107, 110. 
Dementia praecox mentioned, associated with precocity, 69. 
Depressive attacks, described and quoted, of Tolstoi, 27-28; Tenny- 
son's The Two Voices, 29; John Stuart Mill, 29-30; George Borrow, 

31 ; De Quincey, 31-32; Shelley, 29. 
De Quincey referred to, 27 ; quoted as to his periodical depression, 

31-32; Mater Tenebrarum quoted, 32-33; use of opium, 65-66. 
Didier criticised by Ingram, 196. 
Dipsomania the result of an alcoholic inheritance, 4; 5 ; description of, 

5-9; a form of "periodic insanity," 7; definitely established as a 

part of Poe's life-history, 14, 24-25; organic brain changes in, 47; 

not to be classed as insanity, 154-155; Lauvriere's discussion of, 

152-156. 
Dipsomaniac compulsion, 5-6, 14, 155. 
Dipsomaniac depression, 6, 63 , 93. 
The Domain of Arnheim written during Poe's mental decline, 94; 

referred to, 149. 
Double personality referred to, 59. 
Dreams and their significance, 68. 
Drunkard as distinguished from an alcoholic, 46-47; term, applied to 

Poe, a misnomer, 41 , 42 ; threatens Burton with a defamation suit 

for so calling him, 41. 
Evert A. Duyckinck. Poe's letter to regarding the serious nature of 

his illness, 55 ; "Encyclopedia of American Literature" mentioned, 

38, 163. 



INDEX 321 

Edgar A, Poe, use of full name, "Allan," discussed, 204. 

"Edgar Poe and His Critics," book written in defense of Poe by Mrs. 

Whitman, quoted, 183-188. 
"Edinburgh Review" quoted on the life of Poe, 130-133. 
George W. Eleveth quoted in correspondence, as to Poe's habits, 46; 

as to Poe's mental state, 82. 
Ellis-Allan papers referred to, 16-18. 
Thomas Dunn English, quoted as to Poe's use of intoxicants, 45 ; as to 

use of opium, 64 ; Sartain relates conversation between Griswold 

and English, 189 ; sued by Poe for defamation of character, 61 , 85. 
English estimates of Poe quoted. Athenaeum, 129; Eraser's, 130; 

Edinburgh Review, 130-133; referred to, Hannay, 129; Ingram, 

195-197. 
Environment mentioned, 3; as it relates to Poe, unfortunate, 16. 
Epilepsy discussed as it relates to Poe's alleged condition, 61-63. 
Eugenic laws discussed, 144-145. 

"Eureka" discussed as evidence of Poe's paranoid state, 71-81. 
Expansive mental states, 93 , 94. 
Fordham cottage described, 57-58. 
French estimate of Poe, 1 34. 

French psychology as explained by Lauvriere, 156-157. 
Froude referred to as biographer, 1 17. 
Functional neuroses discussed, 5, 113. 
Genealogy mentioned, 1 1 ; as it relates to Poe, 12-13, 204. 
Genius, defined, 10; discussed, 91, 97. 
George Eliot referred to, 27. 
"Germanic Horrors" as explained by Poe, 207. 
Lloyd George mentioned, 144. 

"The Gentleman's Magazine," edited by Poe, 40; consolidated with 
"Casket," 43. 
W. F. Gill, quoted as to Griswold's acquirement of the Poe MMS., 

159; writes "The Life of Poe," 195. 
Goethe and his "Theory of Colors," 73. 
Golden age of Poe's literary achievements, 24. 
Goldsmith mentioned, 144, 209, 222. 
Gowans, the book collector, quoted as to Poe, 214. 



322 INDEX 

George Q. Graham employs Poe as editor of "The Gentleman's 
Magazine," 43; substitutes Griswold, 44; defends the memory of 
Poe, 176-179; quoted as to Poe, 213-214; defense quoted in 
appendix. 

Gray's Elegy referred to, 48. 

Horace Greeley's relations with Poe discussed, 173-174. 

Rufus Wilmot Griswold writes a memoir of Poe containing defama- 
tory statements, 1 , 2, 9, 26; accused by Briggs of telling "damn- 
able lies" about Poe, 50; judgment given against him when Poe 
sued him for defamatory statements, 60-61 ; misrepresents the 
facts of the Whitman-Poe engagement, 86 ; discussed, 183 ; assumes 
the right to "anatomize" Poe as a public warning, 1 16; psycholo- 
gized, 117-118; was never requested to write a memoir of Poe, 118; 
a man peculiarly experienced in obituary literature, 119; shows 
sympathetic interest in Mrs. Clemm after Poe's death, 1 20 ; writes 
an obituary of Poe for the "New York Tribune" that was signed 
"Ludwig," filled with malicious statements and evidencing bitter 
hatred, 120; "Ludwig" article discussed and quoted, 121-123; 
states that when he wrote the "Ludwig" article he did not know 
that he had been "appointed" Poe's editor, 120; as editor prefixes 
a "Memoir" to Poe's collected Works, 124; "Memoir" discussed 
and quoted, 124-127; (also published in full in the appendix,) 
bitterly criticised by Willis and Graham, 129; Griswold's "Me- 
moir" accepted by European critics, 129, 130, 133, 134, 157; de- 
fines and specifies his editorial duties, 121; his statements as to 
Kennedy's out-fitting Poe denied, 123; seeks Mrs. Clemm, and 
proffers his services as editor of Poe's Collected Works, 158; 
demands of Mrs. Clemm "a//" of Poe's papers and manuscripts, 
1 62 ; bases his claim to the appointment of editor of Poe's papers to 
a request made by Poe through "the family of S. D. Lewis," 169; 
174; in a statement prefixed to the "Memoir" he denies enmity 
to Poe, 170; privately, in a letter to Mrs. Whitman, quoted, as- 
serts his enmity, 170; enmity resulted from Poe's lecture on "The 
Poets and Poetry of America," also from a review of this book in 
the Philadelphia "Saturday Museum," 171; (Museum article 
quoted entire in appendix); determination to edit Poe's works 
based on desire to eliminate these and other reviews, 171; said to 
have been both untruthful and dishonest, 173; ordered to write 
the "Ludwig" article by Greeley, 173; the result of collaboration 
with Greeley, 174; states that he neglected his work to undertake 



INDEX 323 

this editorship, 171; Gill's explanation of this assumption of 
editorship, 165; induces Redfield to undertake the publication, 
161 ; promised Mrs. Clemm a royalty which was never received, 
162; my individual opinion as to Griswold's reasons for under- 
taking the editorship of Poe's papers, 164-165; Woodberry re- 
gards this selection as a full recognition of Griswold's capacity as 
a literary editor, 165; "Memoir" attacked by Graham, and 
Graham's defense of Poe, discussed and quoted, 176-180; (repub- 
lished in full in appendix) ; described by Poe as "the unfaithful 
servant who betrayed his trust," 169; quoted as to Mrs. Clemm, 21 1 1 
as to Poe, 217. 

Hallucinations described by Sartain from which Poe suffered during 
an attack of delirium tremens, 96-97; mentioned, 99. 

Hannay, the English Poe memorialist, is attacked by Fraser's Maga- 
zine, 130; mentioned, 189, 195, 197. 

Amanda B. Harris quoted as to the life led by the Poes, 215-216. 

James A. Harrison suggests an alienistic study of Poe, 1 1 ; asserts that 
Allan adopted Poe, 16; quoted as to Allan's early alcoholic train- 
ing of Poe, 16-17; quoted as to Richmond, 16; his estimate of 
Eureka, 7 1 ; his biography of Poe discussed, 203-204. 

"Harry Franco," nom de plume of Briggs, 128. 

The Haunted House, 132. 

Heart disease, functional disturbance as it affected Poe, 42; diagnosed 
by Dr. Francis, 59. 

Hereditary compulsions, 111,113. 

Heredity discussed, 3,5; mentioned, 7,9, 11; riddle of heredity dis- 
cussed, 144-145 ; Poe's heredity mentioned, 3,9, 17, 27, 115, 204. 

Oliver Wendell Holmes' "Race of Life" quoted, 220-221; refuses an 
invitation to attend the unveiling of the Poe monument, 222. 

Home's "Orion" quoted, 53-54. 

Idiot Savant, a mental state closely allied to insanity, 69. 

Illustrations, character of, chosen by Poe publishers, 205-206. 

J. H. Ingram makes a special study of Poe, 196; writes "Edgar Allan 
Poe: His Life, Letters and Opinions," 196; discussed, 196-197; 
reflects on Poe's parentage, 204. 

Inheritance of nervous temperament, 3-5, 6, 9, 10, 14, 17, 27. 44. 

"Insanity of Genius" discussed, 90-92; Lauvriere's Classification, 
155-156. 



324 INDEX 

Interview between En^ish and Griswold quoted from Sartain, 189-190. 

Dr. Janet quoted as to the distinctioa between alcoholism and drunk- 
enness, 46-47; mentioned by Lauvriere, 142. 

Jekyll and Hyde characteristics as exhibited in the life of Poe, 1 1 5. 

Kavanagh mentioned, 71. 

"Know Thyself," a dictum impossible to fulfill, 90. 

Keats mentioned, 145. 

J. H. Kennedy befriends Poe, 25; letter from Poe to, quoted, 27; 
gives reason for Poe's resigning from the "Southern Literary 
Messenger," 37. 

"Ladies Repository" approvingly quotes the Edinburgh Review article 
on Poe, 133. 

Lamb's use of stimulants in periods of depression, 32; referred to, 48. 

Landors Cottage mentioned, 94. 

La Place's theory of cosmogony not understood by Poe, 82; Poe 
quoted as to comparative merit of his theory with that of La 
Place, 82. 

John H. Latrobe quot,ed as to the Poe award by the Visiter, 122-123 ; 
denies the story published by Griswold, 123. 

Emil Lauvriere's interpretation of Eureka, 79; his psychological dis- 
cussion of Poe, 1 38-1 58 ; quoted as to Poe's features, 205. 

Law of Destiny, 113. 

S. D. Lewis quoted as to Poe's habits, 216-217; mentioned as Gris- 
wold's authority for assuming editorship of Poe's works, 169. 

Sarah Anne (by request, Stella) Lewis, relations with Poe discussed, 
175-176; her letter to Griswold quoted, 176; quoted, 95. 

"S. D. Lewis Family" mentioned by Griswold as communicating to 
him Poe's request that he act as Poe editor, 1 58. 

Literary morals of the 40's mentioned, 172-173. 

"The Literati" authors discussed, 38; Memoir, contained in preface, 
mentioned, 1, 124. 

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's opinion of Poe, 52; letter to, quoted, 
51-52; referred to, 73 ; Poe's opinion of, 51 ^ 167; refused to attend 
the Poe monument dedication, 223. 

"The Longfellow War" begun in the "Mirror," 50-51; continued in 
"Broadway Journal," 51 ; evidence of Poe's abnormal mental con- 
dition, 50; referred to by Edinburgh Review, 132. 

James Russell Lowell quoted as to Poe's appearance, 56; impression 



INDEX 325 

made on Poe by Lowell, 56; correspondence referred to, 55; Mrs. 

Clemm's letter to, 56; life contrasted with that of Poe, 219-220; 

refuses to attend the unveiling of the Poe monument, 222. 
Macabre dancing figure of Lauvriere, 149. 
Macaulay a marked example of precocity, 69. 
James McBride, "Admiral of the Blue," referred to as a relative of 

Poe, 12; mentioned, 122,204. 
John Mackenzie visits Mrs. Poe during her last illness, 15. 
Dr. Magnan quoted by Lauvriere, 153; mentioned, 151. 
General Magruder quoted as to Poe's West Point li/e, 20. 
Maniacal outbreaks as the result of alcohol, 7, 100. 
Cotton Mather, 118. 
Marginalia mentioned, 1 , 93. 
Mater Tenebrarum quoted, 32. 
Megrim badge of intellectual superiority, 4. 
Memoir of Poe by Griswold discussed and quoted, 124-129; for many 

years the Poe estimate, 127: mentioned, 2, 133; reprinted in full 

in appendix. 
Memory, loss of, in alcoholics, 7 , 8. 
Mendel's law of inheritance mentioned, 144, 
Meninges defined, 7. 
Mental compulsions, 26, 33. 

Mental degeneration the result of undue use of alcohol, 6; 8; as ex- 
hibited by Poe, 57. 

John Stuart Mill's description of attack of depression quoted, 29-30. 
Miss Mitford, De Quincy's letter to, regarding his abnormal mental 
state quoted, 32. 

Lucian Minor at one time editor of the "Southern Literary Messen- 
ger," 36; White's letters to, concerning Poe's attacks of depression, 
quoted, 37. 

"The Mirror," Poe employed on, 47, 48; contains The Raven, 48; 

Poe begins "The Longfellow War" in, 50; letter from Willis 

quoted as to Poe's work in, 58. 
A Monologue of the Dead, 229-239. 
Monument erected over grave of Poe in Baltimore, 222. 
Moral degeneration in alcoholism, 6, 8; in dipsomania, 9. 



326 INDEX 

Dr. Moran's "Defense of Edgar Allan Poe" discussed and quoted, 
102-110, 190. 

Moral perversions not insanity, 92. 

Moral serum supplied by nature as a preventive of self-knowledge, 90. 

Moyamensing prison, Poe's delusions regarding his confinement 
there, 97, 100. 

Murders of the Rue Morgue mentioned, 149. 

Narcotics, use of, 32; 35; mentioned, 8. 

Nature a queer old mother, 43 ; eugenic laws of, 144; method of com- 
pensation, 111. 

John Neal, editor of the Yankee, corresponds with Poe, 22; repro- 
duces extracts from Poe's poems, 22 ; criticises Griswold's attack 
on Poe in the Memoir, 125. • 

Nervous diathesis discussed, 4-5, 144. 

Neuroses inherited, 6; transmitted, 1 13 ; as it relates to Poe, 4, 115. 

* 'New York Tribune' ' publishes the ' 'Ludwig' ' obituary of Poe, 1 20, 1 2 1 . 

Nil letigit quod non ornovit, applied by Poe to Longfellow, 218. 

"Oliver Twist" claimed by Cruikshank, 71. 

Opium, use of by Poe, 63, 67; Dr. English quoted, 64; Dr. Carter 
quoted, 64; Poe's letter to Annie quoted, 64-65; use of by dip- 
somaniacs, 63; establishment of opium habit, 67; dipsomaniacs 
rarely become opium addicts ; not used to produce hallucinations or 
illusions, 68; De Quincey's use of opium, 65-66; De Quincey's 
"Opium Eater" statements questioned, 66; Symons' "The Opium 
SmoUer," quoted, 68; Poe not an addict, 67. 

"Orion" asserted by Poe to be the equal of "Paradise Lost," 52; 
quoted, 53-54. 

Old age, 95 ; as it affected Dr. Moran, 95 ; as it affected Poe memori- 
alists, 189. 

Mrs. Frances Osgood sought by Poe, 83 ; the impression made on her 
by Poe quoted, 84; her attempt to avoid Poe's attentions quoted, 
84; she approvingly quotes the doggerel of Stoddard, 84; her 
description of Poe, 84. 

"The Oquawka Magazine," a journal Poe attempted to establish, 
93,94,101. 

"Our Press Gang," Wilmer's collection of newspaper anecdotes, con- 
tained defense of Poe, 180; quoted, 181-182. 

"Outis" answers Poe's criticism of Longfellow's plagiarisms, 51. 



INDEX 327 

Overstudy not a cause of insanity, 91. 

Paranoid tendencies not unusual in men of genius, 73-74; basis of 
Poe's conception of cosmos, 71, sqq 

Periodic insanity discussed by Spitzka, 7-8. 

The "Perry Record" discussed, 19; referred to, 23, 26. 

Periodical depression, 26, 27; referred to, 25, 

Mrs. Phelps quoted as to the marriage of Poe to Virginia Clemm, 83. 

Photography contrasted with biography, 115, 116. 

Pictures of Poe protested, 205-206. 

Platonic love exhibited by Poe for several women, 83 , 85-86. 

John Poe (Edgar Poe's great-grandfather) emigrates to America, 
12, 13. 

David Poe (grandfather of Edgar Poe) discussed, 13, l4. 

David Poe (father of Edgar Poe) marries Miss Arnold, 14; end un- 
certain, 16; death probably due to alcoholic syndrome, 14; begets 
three children, all marked by neurotic heredity, 15. 

Mrs. David Poe (Edgar Poe's mother) an actress, Miss Arnold, 14; 
is the mother of three children, 1 5 ; dies in destitution, 15-16. 

Edgar A. Poe, personal relations with authors, 1 ; the various esti- 
mates of Poe's character, 2; his work not the result of drugs or 
alcoholic poisoning, 2, 135-138, 140, 149^apacity for describ- 
ing the abnormal and horrible, 2, 204; alienist's knowledge neces- 
sary for making an understandable explanation of the controversial 
facts of Poe's life, 3,11; the disease from which Poe suffered can 
be classified as dipsomania;^4 ; his morbid heredity responsible for 
his abnormal nervous state, 9; his ancestry discussed, 12-13; 
mother dies while he was still an infant, 15; cared for by John 
Allan, 16; evidence of precocity 17; his hereditary evil becomes 
evident, 17; is taken from the University of Virginia and made to 
work, 18; runs away and sails for Europe 18; enters the army and 
later appointed to West Point, 19; life at West Point described, 
20; his correspondence with Neal, editor of the "Yankee," 22; 
the facts of Poe's life both before, and after leaving West Point 
a matter that has become controversial, 23-24; Poe's precocity 
evidenced by the full development of his literary capacity, 25; 
submits his "Tales of the Folio Club" to Kennedy and secures 
the prize offered by the "Baltimore Visiter," 25 ;suffers from mental 
• depression described in his letter to Kennedy, 27 ; becomes asso- 
ciated with "Southern Literary Messenger" in 1835, 35; marries 



328 INDEX 

his cousin, Virginia Clemm, 36; resigns his position on "Mes- 
senger," 38; becomes associated with Burton in conducting "The 
Gentleman's Magazine," 40; resigns because of difficulties with 
Burton, and threatens a suit for defamation of character because 
Burton called him a drunkard, 41; functional heart disturbance 
causes undue anxiety, 42; becomes associated with Graham's in 
the conduct of "Graham's Magazine," 43 ; applies for government 
position in Washington, 44; oversensitiveness to stimulants dis- 
cussed, 45-47; employed on the "Mirror," 47-48; publishes The 
Raven, 48; becomes associate editor with Briggs on "The Broad- 
way Journal," 50; "The Longfellow War" begun in the "Mirror," 
50; corresponds with Longfellow, 51-52; his curious critical esti- 
mate of Home's "Orion," 53; composition difficult to perform on 
command, 55; letter to Duycinck regarding his mental condition 
quoted, 55; Poe's features described, 56-57; "The Broadway 
Journal" is discontinued, 57; sick and destitute, 57-58; not an 
epileptic, 6 1 -63 ; not an opium addict, 63-67 ; an attack of depression 
described in his letter to "Annie," 64-65 ; deciphering cryptograms 
a mental gift, 68-69; Poe's "old age" and mental deterioration, 
70-71 ; paranoid condition underlying his conception of "Eureka," 
71; his explanation of the cosmos theory, 79-82; platonic love 
exhibited for various women, 83-87; "Annie" his one love, 
87-89; hereditary evil intensified by degenerative changes in 
the brain, 92, 95; his diagnosis of his own condition, 92-93; 
abandons his Fordham home, 95; Mrs. Lewis reports a request 
she states that he made asking her to write his life, 95 ; he reg- 
isters a promise to Mrs. Clemm as to his future sobriety, 96; 
appears in the office of John Sartain suffering from an attack of 
delirium tremens, 96; sqq.; expresses a desire to die with Mrs. 
Clemm, 100; indulges in alcoholic excesses during his last visit to 
Richmond, 101 ; suffers from an attack of delirium and is taken 
to Washington University Hospital, 101; Dr. Moran's letter to 
Mrs. Clemm describing his death, 102-103; Dr. Moran's later 
"Defense of Edgar Allan Poe" discussed, 104-109; Poe's alcoholic 
seizures the result of hereditary compulsion, 113; Poe's alleged 
request that Griswold edit his works questioned, 118; his criti- 
cisms of Griswold's "Poets and Poetry of America" caused bitter 
hatred, 166-169; his final and scathing denunciation of Griswold 
as "f/ie unfaithful servant who betrayed his trust," 169; Poe accuses 
Greeley of unjust criticisms, 173; literary eminence questioned 
both in England and America, 133; obituary published in the 



INDEX 329 

"Tribune" the day following Poe's death, 120; sqq.; the Memoir 
prefixed to Poe's collected works, 124-129 (also published in full 
in appendix) ; Poe's life given both by Lowell and Willis in the 
first volume of the collected works, 160; discussed in English 
Periodicals, 129, sqq.; discussed by Baudelaire, 134-138; discussed 
by Lauvriere, 138-158; defended by Wilmer, 180 sqq.; 182 
sqq.; discussion of his courtship of Mrs. Shelton, 190; discussed 
by Mrs. Weiss, 192; Stoddard describes a visit to, 193-194; In- 
gram's biography of, 196-197, Woodberry's Documentary Study 
and Life of, 198-202; Poe's declaration of his beliefs, 218; seeks 
the friendship of Lowell, 217; Poe's and Lowell's lives contrasted, 
219-220; pictures of Poe discussed, 205; his relation with Mrs.. 
Clemm, 209-211. ^ 

Virginia Poe (Edgar's Poe's wife), 58, 83, 212, 214, 216. 

William Poe (Edgar Poe's brother), 15. 

Rosalie Poe (Edgar Poe's sister), 15. 

Neilson Poe (Edgar Poe's cousin) warns him against "the bottle" 
heredity, 1 4 ; quoted as to the small amount of stimulant it took 
to affect Poe, 160. 

"Poet Laureate" a role unsuited to Poe, 55. 

"Poets and Poetry of America," reviewed by Poe, 165 sqq.; (the 
"Museum" review republished in the appendix). 

Pope mentioned, 69. 

Precocity discussed, 5,9, 17. 

Quacks of Helicon Review by Poe quoted, 163-164; referred to, 1. 

"Queen Mab" referred to, 25. 

The Raven published, 48; its method of composition, 70-71. 

Redfield undertakes the publication of Poe's collected works, 162; 
pays no royalty to Mrs. Clemm, 162; circulates over twenty thou- 
sand copies, 162; final publication in 1876, 188. 

Mayne Reid quoted with relation to the Poes, Zli^215. 

Richmond, the early home of Poe, described by Harrison, 16; home of 
John Allan, 18; alleged birthplace of Poe, 20; Poe's residence 
after leaving West Point, 24; contains the "Edgar A. Poe Shrine" 
recently dedicated, 194. 

John Sartain's reminiscences of Poe, 96; quoted as to interview be- 
tween English and Griswold, 189-190; quoted as to Poe's features, 
206. 



330 INDEX 

General Scott assists Poe to enter West Point, 20. 

Shelley gave evidence of precocity, 2 5 ; abnormal mental state quoted, 29 . 

Mrs. Shelton renews acquaintance with Poe, 86; accepts his suit, 190; 

discussed, 190-192. 
Mrs. Shew assists Poe during a serious illness, 85-86; prognoses Poe's 

early death because of heart disease, 42 ; acts as Poe's nurse, 59-60. 
Slope: A Fable, quoted, 33. 
Dr. Snodgrass, Poe's letter to, regarding his alcoholic life in Richmond 

quoted, 37; letter quoted in which Poe threatens Burton with a 

law suit, 41. 
"Southern Literary Messenger," Poe becomes acting editor of, 35; 

no reason assigned for resignation, 37-38; valedictory quoted, 39. 
"Stylus," 44. 

Spitzka's description and definition of dipsomania quoted, 7-8. 
R. H. Stoddard, quoted by Mrs. Osgood, 84; discussed and quoted, 

193-194. 
Swinburne mentioned, 32; poems not the result of alcoholic stimula- 
tion, 111. 
Suicide, in neurasthenic depressive state, obsessed Poe, 27 ; letter to 

Kennedy quoted, 27; letter to "Annie" quoted, 64-65; as it 

affected other men of genius, 27-32; mentioned by White, 37. 
Tales of "The Folio Club," 25. 
"Tamerlane" printed in Boston, 18; mentioned, 25. 
Tennyson, "Two Voices" quoted, 29; "The Vision of Sin" quoted, 

112-113; mentioned, 71, 132; admired by Poe, 168; his response 

to the invitation of the "Monument" committee, 223. 
Thackeray accuses Griswold of deliberate lying, 172; mentioned, 209; 

quoted as to Steele, 224. 
F. W. Thomas, quoted as to the effect of alcohol on Poe, 44; attempts 

to secure for Poe a political position, 45. 
^'The Unfaithful Servant Who Betrayed His Trust," 169; referred to, 

117, 171,239. 
Tolstoi quoted as to his depressive seizures, 27-28. 
Trelawney, the unsympathetic biographer of Byron, mentioned, 1 1 7. 
Ulalume mentioned, 55; formulated in an abnormal brain, 70, 71. 
University of Virginia, Poe's attendance at, 26. 
Valedictory in "Southern Literary Messenger," 38; in "Broadway 

Journal," 57. 



INDEX 331 

Valentine Museum in Richmond, 23. 

"Vision of Sin" quoted, 112-113. 

"Waif" criticised by Poe, 50. 

Mrs. Weiss quoted as to Poe's marriage, 83 ; quoted as to Poe's sick- 
ness, 101 ; quoted as to Poe's courtship of Mrs. Shelton, 192; value 
of her "Reminiscences" discussed, 192-193. 

West Point, Poe's admission to, 19; life at, 19-21. 

T. W. White, editor of "Southern Literary Messenger" referred to, 
35, 38. 

Mrs. Whitman's interpretation of "Eureka" quoted, 76; is engaged to 
Poe, 86; facts of engagement misrepresented by Griswold, 86; 
183; writes a defense of Poe, 182; her discussion of Poe quoted, 
183-188. 

J. H. Whitty referred to, 193; quoted as to Stoddard and Griswold, 
194. 

William Wilson, psychology of not understood by Lauvriere, 147; 
quoted, 149. 

N. P. Willis gives Poe a position on "Mirror," 47; intimate with Poe, 
48 ; description of Poe, 56; quoted as to Poe's use of alcohol, 58-59; 
quoted as to Mrs. Clemm, 210; quoted regarding Poe, 213; 
Memoir, 212. 

Wilmer's "Quacks of Helicon" favorably reviewed by Poe, 163; 
quoted, 163-164; defends Poe in "The Press Gang," 180-182. 

George E. Woodberry discovers the Perry Record, 18; furnishes new 
evidence regarding Poe's early manhood, 26; quoted as authority 
for a statement of Mrs. Clemm, 75; discusses "Eureka," 77; 78; 
discusses Poe's condition during his last illness, 99; "Life of Poe" 
referred to, 139; quoted as to Griswold's editorship of Poe's 
Works, 159; quoted as to Griswold's arrangement with Redfield 
for publication of Poe's Works, 161 ; quoted regarding Poe's selec- 
tion of Griswold, 165; quoted as to a Fordham excursion, 172; 
quoted with reference to Leland's statement regarding Griswold, 
172; quoted as to the Griswold-Greeley obituary of Poe, 173; 
authority for the letter that Mrs. Lewis wrote Griswold, 176; 
quotes Mrs. Weiss, 193; Woodberry 's "Documentary" and 
"Literary" Life of Poe discussed, 197-203; quotes Willis as to 
Poe, 213 ; quoted as to Poe's letters published by Griswold, 170. 

"The Yankee," published by Neal, contains the first authentic Poe 
contributions, 22. 



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